10 Tips for Household Poison Prevention

Here are 10 important tips for household poison prevention.

1. Keep the poison control center phone number in an easy-to-find location, such as the refrigerator. This is especially useful if a babysitter will be taking care of your children. NJ Poison Control 24/7/365 hotline: (800) 222-1222.


2. Put child locks on all cabinets within your child's reach.


3. Install a carbon monoxide detector on every level of your home, specifically near sleeping areas. Note: regular smoke detectors will not detect the presence of carbon monoxide.


4. Don't leave a car running in the garage even with the garage doors open.


5. Always turn on a light before taking medication from the cabinet to ensure you've picked up the correct bottle and can read the dosage instructions.


6. Keep all toxic products out of reach of children and pets, including a handbag if medications or makeup are kept inside (especially perfume, hair dye, hairspray, nail and shoe polish, and nail polish remover). Note: Don't forget to ask guests to do the same; you don't know what items they bring into your house.


7. Do not mix household products; combining them could result in a poisonous gas being emitted.


8. Leave all cleaning products and medications in their original containers to avoid accidental misuse.


9. Remove poisonous plants or move them out of reach.


10. If your home was built prior to 1978, check for and carefully remove any lead-based paint.

Luckily, more than 70% of poisonings can be treated at home! With these preventive measures in place, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of poisoning in your home.