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Five Ways to Protect your Child from Household PoisonsMore than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to poison centers across the United States, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Half of those calls involve children under 6 years old. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170323006350/en/ As part of National Poison Prevention Week, March 19-25, Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) pediatric medical toxicologist Cyrus Rangan, M.D., assistant medical director of the California Poison Control System, is stressing poison prevention in homes, where 80 percent of poison control calls originate. Dr. Rangan says CHLA alone treated almost 100 cases of poison exposure in 2016, mostly related to kids ingesting household items or unsecured medications. Different poisons can trigger numerous severe reactions, from trouble breathing to accelerated heart rate to blocked intestines and even affected mental states. Dr. Rangan tells parents and guardians to keep these tips in mind:
The good news is doctors say treatments have come a long way in a few decades for patients who are poisoned. While that has led to an overall drop in poison-related deaths, accidental overdoses in children are still rising. That's why experts continue to underscore prevention and supervision as the best line of defense. "We don't like treating children with poisonings. We like preventing them from getting them in the first place," Dr. Rangan says. "And as we get into spring and summer months, and children are spending more time at home… despite how much supervision we give them, children still are very capable at finding substances and possibly causing a poisoning emergency."
Video Available: About Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children's hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children's Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children's Hospital is also one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram, or visit the institution's child health blog (www.WeTreatKidsBetter.org) or its research blog (www.ResearCHLABlog.org).
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170323006350/en/ |