Parents may want to keep their homes as clean as possible to fight the spread of coronavirus, but that’s led to poison control centers seeing an increase in exposure cases in kids.
According to the nonprofit organization Safe Kids Worldwide, poison control centers have handled more than 23,000 exposure cases of hand sanitizer in children 12 and under, as of Dec. 31, 2021.
Calls to poison control numbers also increased by 70% in the first few months of the pandemic alone.
Now, the organization is sharing a few tips to reduce the risk of your child being poisoned:
- Store household products out of children’s reach and sight. Young kids are often eye-level with items on counters and under kitchen and bathroom sinks, so keep cleaning supplies, laundry packets, hand sanitizers and personal care products where children can’t reach them.
- Keep household products in their original containers and read product labels. Use and store products according to the product label. Kids can get into things quickly, so remember not to leave cleaning products or personal care products unattended while you are using them.
- Save the Poison Help number in your phone and post it visibly at home: 1-800-222-1222. Specialists at poison control centers provide free, confidential, expert medical advice 24 hours a day. They can answer questions and help with poison emergencies.