Medical Encyclopedia:
Poisoning: Prevention
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Most accidental poisonings are preventable. The number of deaths of children from poisoning has declined from about 450 per year in the 1960s to about 50 each year in the 1990s. This decline has occurred mainly because of better packaging of toxic materials and better public education.
Actions to prevent poisonings include:
- removing plants that are poisonous
- keeping medicines and household chemicals locked and in a place inaccessible to children
- keeping medications in child-resistant containers
- never referring to medicine as "candy"
- keeping cleaners and other poisons in their original containers
- disposing of outdated prescription medicines
— Tish Davidson
