Pediatric Home Safety Suggestions

What Parents Don’t Realize Don’t feed young children nuts or shellfish. Discard old baby walkers. Lock up the drain cleaners and bleach. Parents and caregivers have heard those warning signs so often that they could recite then in their sleep. What patents don’t realize is that the average household contains a bevy of items no one thought to warn them about. Some products look similar to foods or drinks we commonly eat, but they are very dangerous if a child were to ingest them. For example: Table Salt As little as half a teaspoon ingested by an infant or a tablespoon by a toddler can cause damage to her/her nervous system. Mouthwash Many brands of mouthwash contain alcohol. While all alcohol is toxic to a child, mouthwash could contain more alcohol than what is in your liquor cabinet. Other products that contain alcohol include perfumes and aftershaves, many common extracts such as vanilla; cough and cold medications; and of coarse rubbing alcohol. Baby Oil When swallowed, baby oil, or any petroleum based product, can easily go down into the lung and spread out over the inner surface of the lungs, preventing oxygen from entering the bloodstream.

Garage Doors Watch out for automatic doors that do not have the safety auto reverse feature. A child sitting in the doors path can easily become trapped. Antifreeze Most major brands of antifreeze contain ethylene glycol, a very toxic substance with a sweet taste. This sweet taste attracts kids and household pets, and can lead them to drink large amounts. Plants Plants are one of the most common toxins found in the home. The parent may not be readily aware that the child has ingested the leaves or berries from the plant, and the symptoms of toxicity may not be immediately displayed. Two common houseplants frequently ingested by children are dieffenbachia and philodendron. Both contain microscopic crystals in their leaves that can cause extreme pain and inflammation. In extreme cases it cause enough swelling to the airways that it makes breathing very difficult. “Children’s Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility” - L.J Gosselin Acknowledgments: Karen Gaspers