National Poison Prevention Week is March 15-21, 2015 and the Texas Poison Center Network is again sponsoring the Poison Prevention Poster Contest. 

 

While providing a valuable learning experience, the poster contest can also offer students the opportunity to educate the public about poison prevention as well as win exciting prizes! Each entry will compete for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes. The winning poster will advance to our state contest to compete for the grand prize. Winning posters will be sent to Washington, D.C. for consideration as the National Poison Prevention Week Poster for next year.

 

For more information on how your child can enter, click here to contact the educator in your area. Be sure to make a copy of the entry/release form for each child, have the student's parents fill it out and sign it, and then affix it to the back of the student's poster. 

 

We recommend that the posters use bright, bold, contrasting colors with big letters that are easy to read from a distance. Drawings should be simple and big, and if slogans are used, they should be short and to the point. The posters may be done in collage, watercolor, crayon, or marker. Please do not use pencil or chalk which may rub off and smudge during handling. Posters will be judged on the basis of originality, neatness, design, and the poison prevention message.

 

This poster contest can be a valuable, as well as a fun and exciting learning experience. All submitted posters become the property of the Poison Center. Due to financial restrictions, the posters cannot be returned. For questions about the contest, simply respond back to this email.  

 
Happy Birthday TPCN
The Texas Poison Center Network is celebrating a milestone this year. It has been providing outstanding poison control services for the past 20 years and we could not be more proud! 

Establishment of the Texas Poison Center Network ensures that all Texans have access to the highest quality 24-hour toll-free telephone referral and information services. Thanks to these poison control centers, thousands of lives have been saved and millions of dollars in healthcare costs have been avoided in the process by eliminating unnecessary emergency room visits.

If you know someone who works for Poison Control, let them know their service is appreciated!
  
  
  
  
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More than a million smoke and combination smoke/carbon monoxide alarms are being recalled.

Kidde is recalling the alarms because they could fail to alert consumers of a fire or a carbon monoxide incident following a power outage. 

Below is a list of the recalled alarms:
Kidde residential smoke alarm model i12010S with manufacture dates between December 18, 2013 and May 13, 2014, combination smoke/CO alarm il2010SCO with manufacture dates between December 30, 2013 and May 13, 2014, and combination smoke/CO alarm model KN-COSM-IBA with manufacture date between October 22, 2013 and May 13, 2014.

If you believe you may be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, call the experts at 1-800-222-1222!

 
Don't Forget Medication Take-Back Day

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 27, thousands of DEA-coordinated collection sites will be available across the country courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Please use this unique opportunity to safely and legally dispose of any unneeded pills, including prescription pain pills and other controlled substance medications. It's no longer recommended to flush medications since it can end up in our water system.
 
Collection sites are now listed online. Simply click here to search for a nearby location to dispose of unneeded medications in your area.

The take-back service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked. Sites will accept tablets, capsules, and all other solid dosage forms of unwanted medication. Personal information may be blacked out on prescription bottles or medications may be emptied from the bottles into the bins provided at the events.