It’s time again for National Poison Prevention Week (#NNPW16). This year from March 20-26, Safer Lock is partnering with TOPS Friendly Markets to increase awareness and help prevent child poisoning. Why is this such an important topic?
Children Act Fast. So Do Poisons.
That is the theme of this year’s poison prevention week, and we couldn’t agree more. Not only do children have an uncanny knack for getting into things, the current safety standards for ‘child proof bottles’ are laughable.
Check out this video to see what happened when the Today Show asked a group of toddlers and young children to try removing childproof caps. The result is terrifying.
Child Poisoning is More Common Than You Think
Think it won’t happen to you? Think again. Every year, more than 700,000 visits to the emergency room are caused by drug-related poisonings.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly half of all Americans have used a prescription medication at least once in the past 30 days. With so many prescriptions readily available in homes across America, it should come as no surprise that almost ¾ of a million people experience drug-related poisonings each year.
The youngest members of the household are at the greatest risk for poisoning inside the home, and children under six account for more than half of all poison exposures.
What Poisons Do You Need to Worry About?
Any poison is a problem, but here are the ‘fatal five’ poisons you should pay extra close attention to since they are the five leading causes of household poisonings:
- Painkillers
- Cosmetics or personal products
- Household cleaning products
- Sedatives, hypnotics, and antipsychotic medicines
- Toys, batteries, and other objects
How Can You Help Prevent Child Poisoning?
Here are a few ways you can help prevent poisoning in the home.
- Lock your medication in a locking medicine device.
- Secure household cleaners.
- Share this information on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms to help your friends and family understand the importance of locking dangerous substances.
With your effort, we can reduce the amount of preventable poisonings that happen within the home.
What’s the Best Way to Lock up Medication?
By far, the best way to lock up medication is in secure locking medication storage. Safer Lock is a unique brand that uses a patented 4-digit combination locking cap. Once that cap is on and locked, the only one getting in without obviously tampering with the lid is you.
Where Can I find Safer Lock?
You can find Safer Lock’s combination locking prescription bottle caps in the pharmacy of your local TOPS Market, or on the Safer Lock website.
The Safer Lock combination locking bottle was developed to help protect families from the dangers of prescription drug addiction and accidental prescription drug poisonings. Together, TOPS and Safer Lock are helping families securely lock up their meds to help keep their families safe.
If you want to know more about Poison Prevention Week, follow TOPS Market on Facebook and Twitter, or ask your local TOPS pharmacist for more information on poison prevention inside your home.
