Poison-proofing your home is the key to preventing childhood poisonings. Most people regard their home as a safe haven,however, home can be a dangerous place when it comes to accidental poisoning, especially accidental poisoning of children. One tablet of some medicines can wreak havoc in or kill a child.

Although iron poisoning is the biggest concern when it comes to childhood poisoning, there is also concern about other drugs. Iron-Containing Products remain the [b]Biggest Problem[/b] by Far When It Comes to Childhood Poisoning.

Children poisoned with iron face immediate and long-term problems. Within minutes or hours of swallowing iron tablets, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal bleeding can occur. These problems can progress to shock, coma, seizures, and death. Even if a child appears to have no symptoms after accidentally swallowing iron, or appears to be recovering, medical evaluation should still be sought since successful treatment is difficult once iron is absorbed from the small intestine into the bloodstream. And children who survive iron poisoning can experience other problems, such as gastrointestinal obstruction and liver damage, up to four weeks after the ingested poisoning.

FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is taking steps to protect children from iron poisoning by proposing regulations that will make it harder for small children to gain access to high-potency iron products (30 milligrams of iron or more per tablet). FDA is also taking steps to ensure that health-care providers and consumers are alerted to the dangers associated with accidental overdoses of iron-containing products, including pediatric multivitamin supplements that contain iron.

Poison-Proofing Your Home
Poison-proofing your home is the key to preventing childhood poisonings. In the case of iron-containing pills or any medicine:

* Always close the container as soon as you’ve finished using it. Properly secure the child-resistant packaging, and put it away immediately in a place where children can’t reach it.
* Never change container of pills, always keep pills in their original container.
* Keep iron-containing tablets, and all medicines, out of reach–and out of sight–of children.
* Then never keep medicines on a countertop or bedside table.
* Always follow medicine label directions carefully to avoid accidental overdoses or misdoses that could result in accidental poisoning.

Signs of Poisoning
When a child was well before and in a space of hours develops unusual symptoms: They can’t follow you with their eyes, they’re sleepy before it’s their nap time, their eyes go around in circles. Any unusual or new symptoms should make you think of poisoning as a possibility," Rodgers advises. "Poisonings typically affect the stomach and central nervous system. If a child suddenly throws up, that can be more difficult to diagnose.

Burns around the lips or mouth can also be a sign of poison ingestion, stains of the substance around the child’s mouth, or the smell of a child’s breath. Suspect a possible poisoning if you find an opened or spilled bottle of pills.

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