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9 out of 10 poisonings occur in the home
Nine out of 10 poisonings occur in the home. In past years, nearly 5,000 children younger than 5 in Florida were treated in emergency rooms for poisoning.
The biggest risk? Medication.
While the overall rate of child poisoning deaths has declined through the years, the percentage involving medication has increased significantly, according to Safe Kids Worldwide.
It’s all preventable. A recent study showed that medicine was well within children’s reach in 67 percent of the medication poisoning cases — either on the floor, in a wallet or purse or on a table/dresser.
Nearly one in three medication poisonings that resulted in ER visits were from kids raiding their grandparents’ medication. Doctors have started calling this the granny syndrome.
E-cigarettes are a risk too. Their growing popularity has led to a jump in calls to Florida poison centers involving children swallowing liquid nicotine.
In recent years, there have been at least nine cases in South Florida of children exposed to liquid nicotine, ranging in age from 14 months to 4 years old.
SOURCES:
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Related resources
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Florida's Poison Control Centers
Hotline for poisoning emergencies or related information and resources in Florida
800-222-1222 Website Email -
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- Safety
Safe Kids Palm Beach County
Local child safety information and assistance, including car seat installation, bike helmet fitting, poisoning prevention, TV tip-over prevention and more
561-841-3500 ext. 4011 Website Email -
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- Safety
Safe Kids Worldwide
National resources to protect children from preventable injuries
202-662-0600 Website Email