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Poison Control Center

Poison Prevention Tips
Keep your household safe by following these poisoning prevention tips.
24-hour Poison Control Center hotline: 1-800-222-1222
Store safely
- Lock poisonous products and medicines out of children’s reach and sight.
- Store products in their original, labeled containers.
- Keep medicines, vitamins and household products in containers with child-resistant caps.
- Never carry something that can be poisonous, such as medicine, in a purse where children may find it.
- Put safety latches on drawers and cabinets.
Use safely
- Carefully read container labels before use.
- Never leave poison or medicine unattended where a child may find it.
- After use, close a container tightly, and put it in a locked cabinet.
- Never call medicine “candy.” Children may think it’s candy and eat it.
- Do not take your medication in front of children.
- Do not give a child medication while another child is watching.
- Avoid using pest control products that leave powder or pellets in areas where children or pets can get into them.
- Keep children and pets out of the area when using insecticides and other garden chemicals.
Eat safely
- Place frozen foods in the freezer and refrigerated foods in the refrigerator as soon after shopping as possible.
- Set your refrigerator to 40ºF, the freezer to 0ºF. If you don’t have a thermometer, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without freezing your milk or lettuce.
- Thaw foods in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
- Don’t buy canned goods that are bulging, dented or rusted.
- Refrigerate food within 2 hours of cooking.
- On picnics, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
- Wash hands in hot, soapy water before, and frequently, during food preparation.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating.
- Wash cutting boards and utensils in hot, soapy water or a 10-percent bleach solution after use.
- Thoroughly cook all meats, poultry and seafood.
- Don’t eat raw or partially cooked eggs or shellfish.
- Cook foods as close to serving time as possible.
- Never eat a mushroom unless it has been positively identified and verified as edible. Only an expert can tell a safe mushroom from a poisonous mushroom.
General household safety
- Install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors on each level of your house.
- Remove poisonous plants from your home.
- Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from beds, curtains or other materials that can catch fire.
- Check your house for peeling paint.
- Have all fuel-burning appliances and vehicles regularly inspected and maintained.
- Never leave your car running in an attached garage.
- Keep appliance exhaust vents free of debris.
- Do not use a gas oven to heat your house.
- Do not use a charcoal or portable gas grill inside the house or attached garage.
- Do not sleep in any room with an unvented gas or kerosene space heater.