March 15-19 is Poison Prevention Week

Poisonings happen more often than car accidents or house fires. Each year, more than 1.2 million children ages 5 and younger are accidentally poisoned and 44 percent of these are from prescription drugs and other medicines.  Of the oral prescription drugs ingested by children ages 4 and younger, over 20 percent belong to someone who does not live with the child -- often a grandparent or great-grandparent.


Young children are particularly susceptible to poisoning because they:

• Do not understand the consequences of their behavior
• Do not always learn from their experiences
• Will imitate adults

In addition to storing all potentially poisonous items “up and away,” the pediatric experts at Dayton Children’s and Safe Kids Greater Dayton encourage parents and caregivers to following these steps to avoid poisoning:

• Keep all harmful substances out of reach and sight.
• Put all substances away right after you use them. Never leave them out, even to answer phone or the door.
• Children can open safety locks. Keep poisons locked and stored in a high place.
• Do not store medication in your purse or handbag.
• Do not store poisons near food. Poisons may be mistaken for food.
• Do not keep medications on bedside tables.
• Read labels to find out what can be poisonous. Keep those things separate from toothpaste, soap and other things you use every day.
• Buy child-resistant packages when available. Keep products in their original packages to avoid confusion.
• Never leave medicines or potentially poisonous household products unattended while you are using them.

Keep the toll-free nationwide poison control center number (1-800-222-1222) and local emergency numbers near every telephone.

If you suspect poisoning and a child is choking, collapses, can’t breathe or is having a seizure, call 911. Otherwise, take the product to the phone and call the poison control hotline.

Infant Deaths Prompt CPSC Warning About Sling Carriers for Babies

Those popular baby sling carriers have recently made the news.  While there are many benefits of these products for moms and babies - there are also dangers for children, especially children younger than four months of age.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age. In researching incident reports from the past 20 years, CPSC identified and is investigating at least 14 deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers, including three in 2009. Twelve of the deaths involved babies younger than four months of age.

Slings can pose two different types of suffocation hazards to babies.

• In the first few months of life, babies cannot control their heads because of weak neck muscles. The sling's fabric can press against an infant's nose and mouth, blocking the baby's breathing and rapidly suffocating a baby within a minute or two. 
• Additionally, where a sling keeps the infant in a curled position bending the chin toward the chest, the airways can be restricted, limiting the oxygen supply. The baby will not be able to cry for help and can slowly suffocate.

Many of the babies who died in slings were either a low birth weight twin, were born prematurely, or had breathing issues such as a cold. Therefore, CPSC urges parents of preemies, twins, babies in fragile health and those with low weight to use extra care and consult their pediatricians about using slings.

Two months ago, the Commission added slings to the list of durable infant products that require a mandatory standard. Additionally, CPSC staff is actively investigating these products to determine what additional action may be appropriate. Until a mandatory standard is developed, CPSC is working with ASTM International to quickly complete an effective voluntary standard for infant sling carriers.

CPSC recommends that parents and caregivers make sure the infant's face is not covered and is visible at all times to the sling's wearer. If nursing the baby in a sling, change the baby's position after feeding so the baby's head is facing up and is clear of the sling and the mother's body. Parents and caregivers should be vigilant about frequently checking their baby in a sling.

CPSC is interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are directly related to infant slings. You can do this by visiting www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772. For more information about children's product recalls visit http://www.cpsc.gov/.

Please help Dayton Children’s name our new retail store coming in June

Dayton Children’s is opening a store inside the hospital for patient families to purchase follow-up medical supplies such as thermometers, bandages, over-the-counter medications and medical equipment like gastro buttons and nebulizer, trach and CPAP supplies. We want your input on what the name of the store should be called.

 

Choose an option below or give us your ideas:

1. Kids Rx
2. Kidz+Med
3. The Little Bandage
4. Pediatric Rx
5. Other ideas?

Thank you for your input!