{"id":4165,"date":"2019-03-17T00:42:38","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T00:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/?p=4165"},"modified":"2023-03-10T19:25:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T19:25:19","slug":"poison-prevention-attention-for-accidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/poison-prevention-attention-for-accidents\/","title":{"rendered":"Poison prevention \u2013 Attention for accidents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n

Table of Contents<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u2022 Accidental Poisonings as a Public Health Problem<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u2022 Caustic Poisons Act of 1927<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u2022 Factors Contributing to Pediatric Poisoning<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u2022 Unintentional Overdoses in Children Age 6 to 12 Years<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u2022 Suicidal Poisonings and Adolescent Suicide<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u2022 Factors Contributing to Unintentional Poisoning<\/strong><\/a>
\n\u2022 Conclusion and Importance of National Poison Prevention Week<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Accidental poisonings are a leading public health problem and cause of death from
\ninjuries in the United States as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span>,
\nNational Center for Health Statistics (1). National Poison Prevention Week is designated in
\nthe third week of March every year to highlight the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent
\nthem.<\/p>\n

Caustic Poisons Act of 1927 was applied to approximately 12 acids and alkalies used
\nin household products. More than 90 percent of these poisonings occur in the home. Ingestion
\nrepresents the primary route of poisoning exposures for all ages, and children are no
\nexception. According to reports of 2010, children younger than 6 years accounted for about
\nhalf of all the poison exposure calls and adults accounted for 92 percent of all poison-related
\ndeaths. Statistically, the number of poison-related deaths among children under 5 years of age
\ndecreased from approximately 450 in 1961 to 55 in 1983, an 88% decline, due to the
\nawareness programme. An understanding of the developmental milestones<\/span> sequence from
\nchildhood through adolescence provides insight into the poisoning causes (2, 3).<\/p>\n

In a young child, poisoning results from a combination of factors which are child-
\nassociated, poison-associated, and environment associated. Children aged 1 and 5 years are in
\na critical period where their increased mobility allows for exploratory behavior. For 1-year
\nchildren, it’s period of development of hand-to-mouth activity that predisposes children to
\nself-poisoning. The factors leading up to pediatric poisoning by ingestion are as varied as the
\nsubstances implicated and the children themselves. \u201cExploratory ingestion\u201d most accurately
\ndescribes the motives for unintentional\/accidental non-food poisonings in the young child.
\nFurther with the development the child masters reaching, grasping, and releasing objects e.g.
\nunscrewing of small bottle caps. Features of the poison itself i.e. product attractiveness,
\ninadequate safeguards and a lack of preventive practices in the home play a role in accidental
\nexposures in the home environment. Easy access increases the risk to a curious toddler. Also
\n\u201clook-alike\u201d poisons, which may appear similar to candy or food items, increase the risk. The
\ndevelopment pushes them to increased access to potential poisons, such as prescribed
\nmedications and less supervision in the home sets the stage for poisonous exposures. In some
\ncases, risk increases with the underestimation of a child\u2019s will\/physical ability to successfully
\ngain access, as well as the inability of the caretaker to recognize what constitutes a potentially
\nharmful product.<\/p>\n

The majority of non-fatal poisonings occur in children younger than 6 years
\nold. In children age 6 to 12 years, most of the poisonings are attributable to unintentional
\noverdoses. However, a trending increase in the rate of suicidal poisonings in this group due to
\nsocietal expectations, advancement and easier access to technology, and the gradual decrease
\nof pubertal age of onset is alarming. In fact, unintentional poisonings are almost 10 times that
\nof intentional causes. The periodic age of 6 and 12 years is one of the lowest incidences for
\npoisoning, which is followed by a rise in adolescence.<\/p>\n

In the adolescence, the development of
\nmental illness and risk-taking behaviors and feelings of invincibility contributes to
\nsuicidality. The rise in adolescent suicide has also been due to abuse\/misuse of alcohol and
\nother drugs. The developing adolescent brain is highly vulnerable. According to the NPDS
\n2015 data for all age groups, intentional exposures were significantly less as compared to
\nunintentional except in young people age 13 to 19 years. Of these cases, suicidal intent was
\nsignificantly more prevalent than intentional misuse or abuse. According to the Centers for
\nDisease Control and Prevention<\/span>, both adolescent suicide and substance abuse are most
\nominously on the rise in recent years (4).<\/p>\n

Multiple factors which contribute to the unintentional poisoning include caregiver
\nexperience, education level, stress level\/fatigue at the time of dosing, medical complexity,\u00a0and clarity of instructions. Various scenarios may result in medication errors. Double dosing
\nand incorrect dosing account for many medication errors and are usually a result of incorrect
\nweight- or age-based dosing. Formulation errors also contribute to medication errors. For
\nexample, cardiac medications (eg, verapamil<\/span> and labetalol<\/span>) and some immunosuppressant
\ndrugs (eg, tacrolimus) have multiple available concentrations. Although medication errors are
\nless prevalent (up to 6%) as compared to exploratory ingestion, the mortality reaches
\napproximately 12% in this age group. There are a few steps which can be followed to avoid
\naccidental ingestion of poisons. Locking pesticides and household chemicals out of the reach
\nof children. Keep poisons in the original packing containers instead of food containers. Old or
\noutdated products should be discarded. Few chemicals like pesticides can be extremely
\npoisonous and can get absorbed through the skin or by inhalation. It\u2019s important to remember
\nthat almost anything has the potential to be poisonous if used in the wrong way, in the wrong
\namount, or by the wrong person. When accidents happen with pesticides, chemicals,
\nmedicine or household products, Poison Help numbers should be called and get assistance
\nright away from a local poison expert.
\nNational Poison <\/span><\/p>\n

Prevention Week is a great way to raise awareness about ways to
\nprevent unintentional poisonings. It is the perfect opportunity to inspect home and
\nsurroundings for medicines or household products such as detergents, cleaning products,
\npesticides and fertilizers that may not be stored properly. Steps should be taken immediately
\nto correct the situation by contacting the local poison expert.<\/p>\n

REFERENCES \u2013
\n1. Mowry JB, Spyker DA, Cantilena Jr. LR, et al. 2012 Annual Report of the American
\nAssociation of Poison Control Centers<\/span>\u2019 National Poison Data System (NPDS): 30th
\nannual report. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2013;51(10):949-1229. doi:10.3109\/15563
\n650.2013.863906.
\n2. Calello DP, Henretig FM. Pediatric toxicology: specialized approach to the poisoned
\nchild. Emerg Med Clin N Am. 2014;32(1):29-52. doi:10.1016\/j. emc.2013.09.008.
\n3. Sibert JR, Newcombe RG. Accidental ingestion of poisons and child personality.
\nPostgrad SMed J. 1977;53(619):254-256.
\n4. Brown RT. Risk factors for substance abuse in adolescents. Pediatr Clin North Am.
\n2002;49(2):247-255.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Table of Contents \u2022 Accidental Poisonings as a Public Health Problem \u2022 Caustic Poisons Act of 1927 \u2022 Factors Contributing to Pediatric Poisoning \u2022 Unintentional Overdoses in Children Age 6 to 12 Years \u2022 Suicidal Poisonings and Adolescent Suicide \u2022 Factors Contributing to Unintentional Poisoning \u2022 Conclusion and Importance of National Poison Prevention Week   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[187],"class_list":["post-4165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-poison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4165\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mybiosource.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}