Press Release, Take Poison Prevention Seriously

NATIONAL CAPITAL POISON CENTER
NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2017

Take Poison Prevention Week Seriously

Washington, DC – In recognition of National Poison Prevention Week (March 19-25), the National Capital Poison Center urges all parents to take 2 minutes to learn how to prevent and respond to a poison emergency. More than a million poison exposures occur every year in U.S. children younger than 6 years.

"There are two ways to get free, confidential, expert help if a poisoning occurs," says Dr. Toby Litovitz, MD, Director of the National Capital Poison Center. Either:

Call 1-800-222-1222, or
Log on to poison.org to use the innovative webPOISONCONTROL^® tool for online guidance based on age, substance, and amount swallowed.

There's no need to memorize that contact info. The National Capital Poison Center provides a new "text-to-save" functionality. Text "poison" to 202-677-7600 (don't type the quotes) to save the contact info directly to your smart phone (standard text messaging rates apply). You can also download the vcard at http://vcrd.co/poison/4222. Litovitz: "Share that vcard info with babysitters, grandparents, family and friends."

"Here are 6 important ways to keep your home poison safe," continues Dr. Litovitz:

6 Important Ways to Prevent Poisonings At Home
1	Up, up and away! Keep medications and poisonous household products out of your child's sight and reach. Locked up is best.
2	Avoid container transfer. Some of the most devastating poisonings occur when toxic products are poured into food or beverage containers, then mistaken for food or drink.
3	Read the label and follow the directions. Misusing products has dire consequences.
4	Use child-resistant packaging. It's not child-proof, but so much better than nothing. Sorry it's inconvenient, but using it could save a life.
5	Keep button batteries away from children. Swallowed batteries can burn through your child's esophagus and cause permanent injury or even death.
6	Keep laundry pods out of your child's reach. They are as toxic as they are colorful and squishy.

Need more prevention reminders? Subscribe to The Poison Post^® for free, quarterly poison prevention updates by email. Or go to www.poison.org for more tips.

About the National Capital Poison Center

The National Capital Poison Center is an independent, not-for-profit organization and an accredited poison center. Its nurse and pharmacist Certified Specialists in Poison Information provide 24/7 telephone guidance for poison emergencies, free of charge. It also provides online guidance for poison emergencies through the webPOISONCONTROL^® tool, health professional education in toxicology, and poison prevention education. Service focuses on the metro DC area with a national scope for projects such as webPOISONCONTROL, the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (202-625-3333) [battery hotline number is now 800-498-8666], and The Poison Post^®.

For more information:

Media Relations at National Capital Poison Center (Washington, DC)
pc@poison.org

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