Poison Prevention Week: Keeping Children Out of Danger

Many poisonous items in our home may look appealing to a child

FARGO, N.D. — To a young child, medication can look like candy and cleaning supplies can look like apple juice.

It’s National Poison Prevention week.

Health professionals say if kids can move, they are at risk for putting something dangerous in their mouths.

Last year, more than 5,000 poison exposure calls were made to the Minnesota Poison Center, the same call center that North Dakotans use.

It’s recommended to have the phone number saved in or by your phone.

“There are a lot of different products out there that little kids might think looks delicious, even though they are really poisonous,” said Elizabeth Oestreich, who is the child injury prevention coordinator at Fargo Safe Kids. “We really recommend keeping the chemicals put out of sight, locked in a cabinet somewhere so that the little kids or any children can’t get into them.”

Liquid laundry packets are also a high risk item.

Oestreich said often times, people forget about the dangerous supplies in their laundry room.

For a poison emergency you can call 1-800-222-1222.

It’s free and confidential.