Poison Centers Issue Warning About Concetrated Packets of Laundry Detergent
The American Association of Poison Control Centers and the experts at America’s 57 poison centers are urging the public, especially parents, to keep highly concentrated “single dose packs” of laundry detergent up and away from children, according to Debbie Carr, AAPCC executive director. Read More Here
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Teens and Hand Sanitizers
The Issue:
Recently, poison centers and emergency rooms have noticed a troubling new trend: teens drinking ethanol hand sanitizers to get drunk.
The Facts:
* Hand sanitizers contain more than 60 percent ethyl alcohol (ethanol) – more than most hard liquor.
* Drinking ethanol-based hand sanitizer can cause alcohol poisoning.
* Some teens “distill” the hand sanitizer through a process they find online.
The Symptoms:
* Alcohol poisoning is dangerous!
* Symptoms include confusion, vomiting, seizures, slow or irregular breathing, blue-tinged or pale skin, low body temperature, and unconsciousness.
The Actions:
* Talk to your teens about the dangers of drinking hand sanitizers.
* Explain why alcohol poisoning is not a laughing matter.
* Buy hand sanitizers that don’t contain ethanol.
* If you think someone has drunk hand sanitizer to get high, call 1-800-222-1222 to reach the experts at your local poison center. Don’t wait for symptoms to develop!
Up & Away & Out of Sight
Every year, more than 60,000 young children end up in emergency rooms because they got into medicines while their parent or caregiver was not looking. The Up and Away and Out of Sight educational program was created to remind families of the importance of safe medicine storage.
To help keep children safe through proper medicine storage, Up and Away and Out of Sight educates parents and caregivers by: reminding them about safe medicine storage; providing them with information and tools to keep their child/children safe; and encouraging them to take action. To learn more about the program and its resources and tools, visit www.upandaway.org (www.upandaway.org/es in Spanish).
Every 13 seconds, U.S. Poison Centers receives a call about someone being exposed to a poison. Over 50% of these emergencies involve a child under five years of age.
The Oregon Poison Center would like to wish you and your family health and happiness. Prevent accidental poisonings and keep your family safe. Follow this link for more ways to prevention poisonings in your home.
Remember that your regional poison center is here to help eliminate thousands of costly emergency room visits by providing free and confidential poison assistance to callers on a poison hotline; 1-800-222-1222.
Your Regional Poison Center
The Oregon Poison Center (OPC) is located on the campus of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. We are a 24-hour regional poison emergency information and resource center for the public and health care professionals. We serve the citizens of the state of Oregon. As a regional poison center, we also provide service to Alaska, and the island of Guam.
The Oregon Poison Center, as a provider of 24-hour poison center services to our region has the following core mission and vision.
Our Mission
Our mission is to prevent poisonings and to minimize adverse effects of exposures to drugs, poisons, chemicals and natural toxins. To guide effective utilization of health care resources by serving the public, health care providers and public health agencies, through telephone advice and consultation, educational outreach, research and emergency response planning.
Our Vision
Our vision is to be the regional leader for excellence in poison prevention, education, research and treatment.
The Oregon Poison Center Web site is a free service. Its goal is to provide information about poisons. This site is a resource separate from our emergency telephone service.
The Oregon Poison Center Web site is NOT a substitute for talking with a trained Poison Specialist. In the case of an emergency, you should always contact your regional poison control center (1-800-222-1222) or 911 emergency services for help.