In 1961, Congress established National Poison Prevention Week to raise awareness, reduce unintentional poisonings, and promote poison prevention. It is sponsored by the National Poison Prevention Week Council; this year it is March 17-23.
America’s Poison Centers represents 55 poison centers across the country, focused on preventing every poison and toxin-related health emergency in America. They provide all Americans expert advice from nationally accredited medical specialists and maintain the nation’s only near real-time poisoning data surveillance system. Together, America’s Poison Centers ensure a national quality standard for the detection, prevention, and treatment of toxin-related health emergencies.
Almost anything can be a poison depending on the substance and exposure. Common items that can be poisonous include medicines, household and garden products, plants and mushrooms and insects and other critters.
Here is an example: As of November 30, 2023, poison centers managed 9,190 cases related to laundry detergent packet exposure in children five and younger. Experts recognize that highly concentrated single-load liquid laundry detergent can cause serious harm to young children. The membrane around the soap is designed to dissolve when in contact with moisture, creating a risk of exposure when placed in the mouth or handled by wet hands.
Candy and medicine can look, smell, and taste alike. Test your knowledge on how to identify candy or medicine.
Do you use slug or snail bait? Check out this video or these FAQs to learn more about impact on your pets.
Take a few minutes now to add the Poison Help number to your contacts at 1-800-222-1222 – It’s fast, free, expert help, 24 hours a day, every day. For more information, visit the California Poison Control System.