According to the National Safety Council, 466 accidental deaths happen every day in America. A recent study estimated that nearly 65,000 of these are from poisoning. 

That’s a big and surprising number, especially for accidental deaths. But just how easy is it to die from accidental poisoning?

Well, with today’s busy pace of life, it can be easier than you would think to suffer from accidental poisoning in the home, with medicines, toxic chemicals, and many more commonplace household items having the capability to poison if used incorrectly.

Clearly just looking around your kitchen and bathroom, I’m sure you’ll find many hazardous chemicals, products, and medicines that if used incorrectly, could prove fatal. 

Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom here and there are a multitude of preventative steps you can take to ensure that you don’t face accidental poisoning in your own home. 

Below, you can find a handy list of top room-specific safety tips to follow to prevent the chances of accidental poisoning taking place in your home:

Bathroom 

  • Store all medicines in lockable medicine cupboards where possible.
  • Ensure that you keep any pills and liquids in their original containers and that these containers are clearly labeled. 
  • Ensure that medicine and items such as mouthwash are out of children’s reach in a lockable cupboard.  
  • If you carry your medicine in a bag at any point, make sure you always have sight of it.
  • Never take medicine in the dark, always make sure you know what you are using or giving. 
  • Never leave cosmetics or toiletries within easy reach of children.
  • Safely discard all medications that are old or aren’t used regularly.

Kitchen 

  • Use safety latches or locks for all cabinets containing household cleaning products or hazardous substances. 
  • Ensure that you don’t reuse plastic bottles as containers for miscellaneous cleaning products or chemicals And that all cleaning products and anything with chemicals in them is clearly labeled. 
  • Don’t leave alcoholic drinks where kids can reach them. 
  • Keep bottles of alcohol in locked cupboards and away from children

Garage

  • Ensure any garden related poisons are in their original packaging and locked away.
  • If you have any lead-based paint, ensure these are in their original packaging and locked away.
  • Never leave any hazardous materials unlabelled and within easy reach of children. 

General 

  • Don’t put roach or rat poison on your floors inside your home.
  • Never use insect sprays on your furniture or mattresses.
  • Ensure laundry supplies such as detergent powder and tablets are out of sight and reach of children.
  • When you’re cleaning your house or using household chemicals, make sure not to leave any cleaning products unattended if you have children present.  
  • Safely discard all household products that are old or aren’t used regularly.
  • Never mix any household cleaning products due to the potential for dangerous fumes to occur. 

 

While it’s true that regardless of some of the measures we put into place, accidents do still happen, hopefully following the above safety tips around your home will ensure that you are at a lower risk of accidental poisoning.