Household products such as medicines, detergents, cosmetics, insecticides, and herbicides are valuable in the home. However, when these products are used inappropriately, it can cause illness, injury and even death.

The good news is unintentional home poisoning can be prevented. While child-resistant packaging has greatly reduced the number of fatalities among children under five years of age, parents, grandparents, and other caregivers must still be cautious. Following label directions for all products, including medicine dosages, and proper storage of potentially toxic products are important precautions to take.

Bathroom
Have a child-proof cabinet that locks and mounted high up.
Keep medicine bottle caps tightly closed.
Never take medicines in front of a child, or refer to pills as candy. Children often mimic adults.
Always follow the recommended dosage for medications set by your doctor.
Some mouthwashes contain enough alcohol to poison small children. Keep them away from children or use those with child-proof caps. Some toilet bowl cleansers are dangerously caustic and very dangerous if swallowed. Keep them out of reach of children.

Bedroom
Mothballs and crystals should be hung in containers. If such products are used in closets or chests, they should be out of reach of toddlers.
If children are present, it is best if vanity care items such as hair spray, cologne, perfumes, nail polish remover, nail glue remover, and astringents are not kept in the open on dressing table.

Living Room
Children may be exposed to lead-based items in your home. Older furniture, such as cribs, play pens, chairs, and painted toys, may contain lead-based paint.

Kitchen
Look for stored products (especially those under the sink and in the low cabinet shelves) that could be hazardous to yound children. those include bleaching agents, rust removers, drain cleaners, ammonia, oven cleaners, detergents, furniture polish, floor wax, metal polish, wax remover, and wall/floor/toilet bowl cleaners. Even food extracts, such as vanilla and almond, are potential poisons. If products cannot be moved, install child safety latches on the lower cupboard doors.
Cleaning compounds and foods must never be stored on the same shelf. Cleaning compounds could be mistaken for food.
Keep all substances in their orginal containers. Don't use beverage bottles or cans for storing cleaning fluids, liquid floor wax, and other household mixtures. Children, and even adults, might mistake the contents for the orginal beverage. Labels on original containers often give first aid information if someone should swallow the product.
Keep potentially hazardous cleaning compounds capped while using. Do not leave the unattended container uncapped for even just a minute if toddlers are present.

Additional Precautions
Use safety latches or combination locks to prevent curious children from getting into cabinets and drawers. Do not let children watch you open them.
Keep telephone numbers of your family doctor and hospital emergency room near the telephone. Having the orginal container and label of suspected items causing the poisoning is important in helping paramedics and doctors identify the treatment needed.
Throw out old medicines. Expired medicines may be ineffective and/or dangerous. Don't take medicines without the doctor's advice. Your condition now may be different from the time when the medicine was first prescribed.

The elderly are especially susceptible...
Request medicine labels be printed in larger type.
Make sure you are taking the correct medicine you intended; turn on the lights and check the label carefully.
Use dosage containers indicating day of week and/or time of day; don't leave it to memory.
If you are taking two or more medications, be sure to check with your pharmacist to avoid unexpected drug interactions.
Consider a dedicated medicine storage area or a special container for medicine- even if there are no children in the house.