Protecting Yourself and Your Children from Poisonous Substances.
We are exposed to various forms of poisoning from food poisoning, drugs, fruits, and drinks in our every day to day life. As we come in contact with various objects.
Also from the air we breathe, what we touch, skin contact, and what we often take into our systems.
Poisons are substances that cause harm to your body when you come in contact with them. It could be through inhaling swallowing touching, or when injected into your body system.
Believe it or not, you have certain poisons all around you. At your home or at work.
Substances such as detergents, some soaps, and medicines especially expired ones could pose a serious health hazard to you.
Some are deadly, some are mild, while some are poisonous only in higher concentrations or dosages while others are only poisonous when ingested.
We live with them and used them regularly.
Recommended for you:
Poisons can find its way into the body system through various means commonly through :
- Breathing in cases of poisonous gases.
- Through the skin.
- By IV injection.
- Bites from venomous and poisonous snakes.
- And exposure from radiation.
- Drug overdosed or wrongly prescribed.
- Food, fruits, and drinks that are exposed to germs and bacteria stored or refrigerated poorly.
Recommended for you:
Steps to take in order to Prevent Poisoning
- Do away with expired or old medicines. Always look at the expiry date of drugs before taking them. To avoid the ingestion of expired drugs. And always keep new drugs in their labeled containers away from children.
- Wash your hands, fruits, and vegetables thoroughly before consumption. Each time you are about to eat. You are about to make the most important decision in your life. The food you eat will to a large extent determine your well-being and health.
- Keep all medicines and poisons beyond the reach of children. Household medicines, drugs, cleaning solutions insecticides, and herbicides should be kept well beyond the reach of children. They should be kept preferable separately from where food is kept.
- In order to avoid poisoning always distinguish between medicine and soft drinks in the presence of your children. Always refer to medicine as medicine in the presence of children.
- Instructions and training, always instruct and train your children to take drugs only given to them by you to avoid poisoning. Tell them about the dangers of taking or eating indiscriminately.
- Make sure all the drugs or medicines in your house have labels and all the expiry dates are well spelled out.
- Dispose of properly hazardous and poisonous substances immediately after used and out of sight of your children.
- Lock and hide dangerous substances in the cabinets or a well-secured location that is only accessible when in need.
Antidote for Poisons
- Rush the victim to the hospital immediately for proper medical attention and take along with you a sample of the poisonous substance. For proper medical attention. So that the doctor will know the right prescriptions and treatments to administer to the patients.
- Make the child vomit, especially if he is alert and awake by placing fingers at the back of his throat to induce vomiting. You can as well give one or two glasses of milk to a grown-up child or adult. In the absence of milk, you can give just warm water and a teaspoonful of salt to increase the chances of vomiting.
- You can also administer activated charcoal or a table’s spoon of powdered charcoal mixed in water. For an adult, a person gives two (2) glasses of this mixture.
- Above all prevention is always better than cure. keep all poisonous substances and drugs away from children and out of sight.