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5 Tips for Poison Prevention at Home

By Michelle Marine

on Apr 04, 2016, Updated Jul 18, 2020

8 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All opinions are 100% mine. #MakeSafeHappen #IC #upandaway

For the next few months, I’m teaming up with Nationwide Insurance to bring you tips for keeping your family safe. While the topic is sad, safety at home is a really important message. I’ve known too many families who have lost children in tragic, tragic accidents. Today, I’m bringing you a few quick and easy tips to help prevent accidental poisoning at home.

5 Tips for Poison Prevention at Home

1. Keep track of toxic chemicals and them out of reach.

Most parents understand that cleaning products are often toxic and are pretty good at keeping them out of reach of kiddos. But other hazardous products are often over looked. When you’re kid proofing your home, don’t forget about these five toxic products: hand sanitizer, medications, laundry pods, batteries, and e-cigarettes. Some of these items we have no choice but to use, but some of them (hand sanitizer and cleaning products) we don’t have to use at all!

2. Choose less toxic cleaning products

It is possible to use less toxic cleaning products by buying safer options or even making your own. Besides being healthier, it’s also often cheaper to make your own cleaning products. Vinegar, baking soda, and lemon make fabulous cleaners. But even if you make your own, you should still keep them out of reach and away from kiddos!!

3. Know and use the Poison Help number!

Go ahead and add this number to your contacts today and also print it out and put it on your fridge. If your child eats something questionable, give Poison Help a call right away. However, in the case of a clear emergency (seizures, not breathing, or unconscious), call 911 instead. 

4.  Practice Safe Disposal Methods 

Medications are the leading cause of childhood poisonings. I know first hand how frustrating it is to try to dispose of old medicines safely, but it is really important to clear your home of old medicines as soon as you can. If they’re not around, they can’t poison anyone.

The app is owned by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and developed by the safety experts in their Center for Injury Research and Policy. It includes room-to-room safety checklists and links to recommended safer products. You can also create to-do lists, set reminders and track your progress. If you’d like more tips and tricks to make a safer home, this app might be a good place to start!

If you’d like more information on poisoning, head over to Nationwide’s article on Poison Safety.  Stay tuned for more helpful posts over the next few months! <3

What do you do to keep your family safe at home? Please share in the comments.