As students pack their book bags and get ready to embark on a brand new school year, the Texas Poison Center Network is encouraging families to take precautions against poison exposures.

To prevent harmful exposures, we offer the following tips:

School and Art Supplies - Most school and art supplies are minimally toxic. Parents and teachers can take steps to help students be as safe as possible when handling supplies:

Be sure children know how to safely use art supplies by :

Carefully reading labels.
Following directions for safe use and disposal.
Cleaning up tables, desks, and counters appropriately.
Teach kids not to eat or drink while using art products.

Hand sanitizer - Certain amounts of hand sanitizer can cause drowsiness, vomiting, and intoxication, due to the high alcohol content. Avoid misuse and unintentional ingestion by:

Advising children on its proper use and purpose.
Supervising use of hand sanitizer.
Teaching children to apply a dime-sized amount to dry hands and rub hands together until completely dry.
Washing hands with soap and water is the best method for removing dirt and germs.

Lunch Box Preparation - In order to ensure your child's lunch is safe:

Wash hands thoroughly before preparing lunch boxes.
Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
Pack foods in insulated containers.
Wash all fruits and vegetables.

Other tips for keeping kids healthy going into the new school year:

In the commotion of changing schedules, avoid the "double dose dilemma" and "morning medication mix-up"
Carefully read and follow directions and warnings on all labels before taking or giving your child medicine.
Teach your children never take other people's medicine.
Never give your child prescription medication unless it has been prescribed for them specifically by a doctor.
Dispose of silica gel packets included in new purchases, like shoes, medicines, etc. Although not considered toxic, they may present a choking hazard.
Teach children to be careful and use caution in classes like Chemistry, where potentially harmful substances may be used.

Adolescent Poison Dangers

Pre-teens, teenagers and college students face different and often serious poison dangers. Parents should talk with their children openly and honestly about substances that can harm them. These conversations may not be comfortable, but they may save their lives.

Caffeine is a widely-used stimulant. It is found in coffee and soda in modest amounts. Energy drinks and energy shots are a popular source of caffeine among young people. They may contain larger amounts of caffeine than soda. Energy products can have added ingredients that have similar effects to caffeine. Pure caffeine powder is also available on the internet. While deaths related to caffeine are rare, overdoses are becoming more common. High doses of caffeine can cause nausea, vomiting, nervousness, sweating, tremor, increased heart rate, headache, and seizures. Athletes should never use energy drinks to boost performance or replace fluids. The effects on the heart and blood pressure can be severe.

Safe use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines should be a regular conversation between parents and their children. Directions on all medications should be followed exactly. Medicines should never be shared with friends. When taken incorrectly, prescription and over-the-counter medicines are as dangerous as illicit drugs.

Bath salts, synthetic marijuana and Molly are in the news frequently. Young people who use these substances are truly playing Russian roulette because nobody really knows what they contain. Some of these can be bought at convenience stores or on the internet. Others may be purchased at concerts or shared at parties. Making these substances illegal is challenging because as soon as one chemical is outlawed, the street chemists make changes to invent a new one that is not illegal.

Communication is one way to keep your children, at home or at college, poison-safe. Don't assume they are aware of these dangers. A conversation today can make the school year safe and productive. For more information, call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Poison centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for poisoning emergencies and for informational calls, too.

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Caffeine Content Comparison
An 8 ounce cup of coffee contains 80-150 mg of caffeine. Stay-awake tablets contain up to 200 mg, whereas most energy drinks range from 50-250 mg of caffeine/can. Energy shot products (e.g. Pure Liquid Caffeine®) contain as much as 500 mg/oz. Powders for body building are sold in bulk quantities over the internet. One teaspoon of these powders can contain as much caffeine as 25 cups of coffee! Sodas, teas, chocolate based sweets, gums (e.g. Jolt®), and various snacks and breakfast foods also can contain substantial amounts of caffeine. Many supplements contain natural sources of caffeine such as guarana and yerba mate that are not listed on the label as caffeine.

Don't forget about free materials!

Looking for something fun, yet educational for your little ones? They can be a "Poison Prevention Pro" by completing the pages in our Activity Book. This is just one of many items you can order and have mailed to your home or business for free. Check out other great educational items here!

Did you know? In 2015, through June 30, poison centers have received reports of 1,420 exposures to energy drinks; of those, 844 were children 18 and younger. In 2015, through July 5, poison centers received over 4,300 calls about exposures to synthetic marijuana like K2, Spice, etc.