Suspected poisoning is one of the most common reasons for young children to be taken to A&E.
3 quick tips to prevent accidental poisoning
- Keep all potentially harmful things out of a child’s reach
- Opt for child-resistant packaging whenever possible – but remember it’s not completely child-proof
- Look for products that contain a bittering agent like Bitrex – it tastes so horrible children will spit it out instead of swallowing
Why are small children most at risk of accidental poisoning?
Natural development
Babies and toddlers naturally put everything in their mouths. This mouthing is a normal developmental stage that helps with sensory development, self-soothing, and immune system building. But it means anything they can reach is at risk of going into their mouth.
Curiosity
Young children are curious and they explore the world around them by using their mouths. They aren’t being ‘naughty’ when they swallow something they shouldn’t. It happens by accident.
Imitation
Small children love to watch and copy what they see. If they watch you take some tablets every morning, they’ll want to join in too.
Lookalikes
Accidentally drinking or swallowing something that looks like food or drink is common. Think brightly coloured cleaning products and tablets or washing pods that look like sweets. A small child won’t be able to tell what is and isn’t safe.
Older children and pica
Older children with autism spectrum disorder or learning difficulties may also eat non-food items. The medical term for this is pica.
Medicines
Swallowing medicines, like the painkillers you keep in your handbag or bedside table, is the most common way for children to be poisoned.
- Put medicines where children can’t see them or reach them – in a locked cabinet if you can and in a room like the kitchen where there is usually an adult around.
- When you give children medicine, never pretend it is a treat or a sweet – they may get the wrong idea about other medicines.
- Safety tops and blister packs help prevent poisoning but don’t rely on them – they will slow children down but may not stop them
- Watch out for painkillers left counted out on the bedside table or loose in a handbag on the floor
Cleaning products
Cleaning products – helpful for you but possibly harmful for small children.
- What’s lurking under your sink or next to your toilet? Move cleaning products to a high up or lockable cupboard
- Put them out of reach again after you’ve used them
- Don’t rely on safety caps – they slow children down, but they’re not childproof
- Look out for products with a bittering agent like Bitrex when you’re shopping
- Don’t pour cleaning products into other bottles like drinks bottles. Children can get confused.
Laundry products
Small children can mistake brightly coloured washing pods for sweets or toys. But the concentrated chemicals can do serious damage to children’s insides, skin and eyes.
- It’s tempting to keep products beside the washing machine. Move them to a high up shelf or lockable cupboard
- Watch out for fast little fingers! Don’t leave a washing pod on top of the washing
- Put products away out of reach as soon as you’ve used them
- When you’re shopping, look out for products with a bittering agent like Bitrex – it tastes so horrible, children spit it out instead of swallowing, preventing accidental poisoning.
Avoid decanting cleaning products into other containers
The decluttering trend encourages us to decant our cleaning products into jars and other prettier dispensers. But this can put your child at risk. Here’s why:
1. Chemicals in cleaning products can cause serious harm. Including life-changing chemical burns to eyes, skin and throats.
2. Cleaning products come in child-resistant packaging for a reason – to slow children down and reduce the chance of accidents.
3. The original bottles have essential information about first aid, chemical ingredients and proper handling. If an accident should happen, you’ll need this to hand.
4. Out of their original container, cleaning products are easier to mistake for a drink or sweets. So, the risk of a child swallowing them is much higher.
So, please keep products in their original containers and out of reach of curious little hands.
More poisoning risks and tips
- When you’re visiting friends or relatives, take a few moments to look out for medicines or cleaning products lying around, like in Granny’s bedside table.
- Even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful to small children, so clear up any glasses with alcohol dregs left in them.
- Take care with aromatherapy oils, perfumes, vapes and refills and cigarettes too. They can all be harmful to small children if swallowed.
- Don’t forget about DIY or garden chemicals. Whether you keep them in the house or garden shed, keep them out of children’s reach
- Plants in the garden can be confusing. Teach your child not to eat anything they pick outside. Poisonous berries can easily look like the ones they have in their pudding!
Carbon monoxide
It’s scary to think that your child could also be poisoned by something that you cannot see, taste or smell. But carbon monoxide (CO) is a highly poisonous gas – known as the silent killer.
It can leak into our homes when an appliance such as a boiler, gas hob, or wood burning stove has been incorrectly fitted, badly repaired or poorly maintained.
Young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of CO and may experience symptoms sooner than a healthy adult.
Make sure that you have an audible carbon monoxide alarm fitted in your home – ideally one in every room with a fuel-burning appliance.
Do you work with families?
We have lots of free resources to help you create a talking point, run an engaging workshop or provide essential advice to the families you work with.
Simply visit our online resource centre:
- Download our free fact sheet on poisoning prevention
- Run a group session with our session plan.
- Download our poster
- Show our washing pods animation
- Order a Bitrex Taste Test kit and ask parents to taste the bitterest substance on earth
- Download our translated fact sheets to share with families.
You can also order printed poisoning educational resources from our shop.
Other dangerous things that children swallow
Other dangerous things that children swallow
Magnets
While magnets can be great fun, they can rip through a child’s gut if they swallow them, causing life-threatening injuries. The magnets can stick together inside the body and cut off the blood supply, causing tissue to die.
Learn more
