IF A POISONING OCCURS - treatment for the childhood poisoning

The formula is simple enough -Poison, child: store one, save the other. There is certainly need for other measures. A federal law requires that hazardous household products bear information to protect users and warn against accidental ingestion by children, and vigorous enforcement and education of the public to its significance can help. Industry can and should develop and use increasingly effective safety closures and containers for medicines and poisonous agents, for while some children may circumvent such measures, there will be many who are unable to get a safety cap off. Any medicines administered to a child should be administered on a serious basis, not as a game, and parents should not themselves take medication in the presence of small children.

 More and more now, physicians and official medical bodies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics advise that every home should always have on hand two items for emergencies. One is a 1-ounce bottle of syrup of ipecac and the other an inexpensive can of activated charcoal. The ipecac efficiently induces vomiting. The charcoal, which is mixed with water to make a soup like substance, absorbs any poison in the stomach after vomiting occurs. With these available, you can immediately call a physician, hospital, or poison control center if poisoning occurs. Even if you are not certain exactly what the child has swallowed, they can give you instructions over the phone which may involve use of one or both of these items. Used immediately and properly, they may avoid fatality, serious illness, and even need for hospitalization, stomach pumping, and other drastic measures.

It seems to be human nature not to like to think of accidents when all is going well. But since we can't immunize against accidents, we have to give some thought to their prevention. Perhaps the easiest way to play safe is to organize a home safety council and make its meetings pleasant occasions and a kind of game for the children. Perhaps once a month, the family can sit down and discuss safety rules, any new hazards that may have developed, any accidents that may have occurred. We suggest that husbands can play a major role in accident prevention in the home.

Men know the technical side of dangerous equipment. They should take major responsibility for checking electrical apparatus, furnace, gas connections, and similar equipment. Their wives could then educate the children in accident prevention. If youngsters are given prizes for observing safety rules, and special prizes for new suggestions, plus a treat, say, of ice cream, when the home "safety council" meets, they will look forward to the meetings. In this way, their interest in obeying good safety rules and in making new ones will be strengthened at an early age.