You can keep yourself and family members safer by being aware of potential hazards and observing these suggestions from the National Safety Council on ways to poison-proof your home.

Bathroom

• Have a "child-proof" section that locks. Even if your medicine cabinet is "high-up," youngsters are inquisitive and avid climbers. They can easily reach a cabinet by climbing from the toilet (or other convenient object) to the sink and thus reach into the cabinet.
• Keep medication lids tightly closed. A child-resistant cap is meaningless if not properly fastened after each use.
• Never take medication in front of a child, or refer to pills as candy. Kids often mimic adults. Also, something that tastes awful to an adult may not faze a small child. They swallow almost everything.
• Always follow the recommended dosage set forth by your doctor for all medications.

Bedroom

• Mothballs and crystals should be hung in containers. If such products are used in closets or chests, they should be out of the reach of toddlers.
• If children are present, it is best if dressing table and vanity personal-care items are not kept in the open. Hair spray, cologne, perfumes, nail polish remover, nail glue remover, and astringents should be kept where children can't get into them.

Living Room

• Be wary of visitors. People who visit may carry medications in coat pockets, jackets and purses are the perfect hunting grounds for a curious child. Hang garments where children are not likely to get at them.
• Children may be exposed to different lead sources in your home. Small children may chew on window sills, eat paint chips and/or suck on their hands, exposing themselves to lead dust. Older furniture, such as cribs, play pens, chairs, etc. and painted toys may also contain lead-based paint. Lead poisoning is a serious medical problem. See our lead poisoning fact sheet for more information.

Kitchen

• Check under the sink and low cabinet shelves. Look for stored products that could be hazardous when accessible to young children. These could include such items as 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 safety latches on the lower cupboard doors to keep inquisitive youngsters out.
• Cleaning compounds and foods must never be stored on the same shelf. One item might be mistaken for another.
• Keep all substances in their original containers. Using beverage bottles or cans for storing cleaning fluids, liquid floor wax and other household mixtures is very hazardous. Children, and even adults, might mistake the contents for the original beverage. Also, 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. Don't let children watch you open combinations to them. Kids learn fast.
• Many poisonings to youngsters happen when the household routine has been interrupted. Examples of such changes include: when a parent is ill; when a family is moving; when a family is on a trip; when there is a guest in the home; when there is family tension; when seasonal products are in use. In addition, hungry or tired children are prone to put the first available object they find into their mouths.
• Keep the numbers of your local poison control center, family doctor and hospital emergency room posted near the telephone.
• For handling poisonings and other emergencies, everyone should be trained in First Aid.