As children will soon go on a few weeks’ vacation from day-care centers, kindergartens, and schools, the number of unintentional poisonings, drownings in buckets, and other catastrophic events are predicted.
Last year during the week before Passover, there were 1,119 queries – an increase of about 30% from the year compared to the weekly average – in requests for advice on poisoning. About half of the inquiries in the week before Passover were due to exposure to chemicals, mainly damage from cleaning and disinfecting agents, bleach, degreasers, scale removers, insecticides, acids and petroleum distillates. Almost half of the inquiries (44%) were caused by poison in or suspected poisoning in children under six years of age.
In preparation for Passover, the Health Ministry in collaboration with its Israel Poison Information Center at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa the Beterem (Safe Kids-Israel) organization have published data on poisoning due to cleaning materials and rules for the safety of using cleaning materials at home. About half of the inquiries in the week before Passover were due to exposure to chemicals. In many cases, the injury is due to mixing cleaning materials that causes the release of gases that irritate the respiratory tract to the point of respiratory distress.
In addition, there are many cases of burns from chemicals, damage to the eyes, and even cases of children swallowing cleaning agents. During pre-Passover cleaning, dangerous materials are often within reach of the children in open packages, in bulk and even transferred to drink bottles and glasses.
In addition to injuries from cleaning agents, there is also an increase in poisonings from drugs, when during the cleaning and tidying, many drugs are left unattended, thrown in the trash and accessible to children who are at home.
These conditions increase the risk of accidents at home in general and poisoning in particular, said Dr. Yael Luria, director of the Israel Poison Information Center. “It is important to remember that most cases can be prevented by paying attention and using a number of simple precautions.
With paying attention to the issue, we can arrive at the holiday clean, healthy and whole.”
Orly Silbinger, director of Beterem, added that “Toddlers are curious and tend to examine the world through their mouths. In case of ingestion or contact with cleaning materials, the reaction in children is much faster and more severe than in adults. I call on the parents: ‘Don't say it won't happen to me.’ Especially during this period of Passover cleaning, when the children are free, it is important to adapt the house, keep dangerous substances out of their reach and observe the safety guidelines.”
To reduce as much as possible the harm due to poisoning, the two organizations have published rules for the safe home use of cleaning agents and medicines:
- Cleaning materials must be stored in a closed cabinet, used immediately, and at the end of use, closed them and returned to their safe place.
- Don’t transfer cleaning agents to other containers (glasses or drinking bottles).
- Make sure that disinfectants including alcohol gel are out of the reach of children.
- Read the instructions for use of the cleaning materials. Do not mix materials
- Children should not be allowed to play with detergent, spray, disinfectant or medicine packages, even if they are tightly closed.
- Medicines must be stored in a closed box, out of the reach and sight of children. Medicines in the refrigerator must be kept in a well-closed and labeled box.
- Administering medications under parental supervision and at the end, returning them to the place.
- Children should not be allowed to play with medicines since many children know how to open safety locks.
- Medicines that are given as mouth drops (including iron preparations and vitamins) must first be dripped into a spoon and then given to the child. Do not drip directly from the bottle into the mouth.
- Medicines or vitamins should not be presented as sweets in order to convince the children to take them.
- Bags containing medicines should be kept out of the reach of children.
In cases of poisoning or suspicion of poisoning, consult the Israel Poison Information Center at (04) 7771900. In case of poisoning or suspected poisoning, do not induce vomiting. In case of exposure to the skin or eyes, rinse the area thoroughly with a large amount of running water. In case of difficulty breathing, convulsions or loss of consciousness, call Magen David Adom (101) immediately.