Prevention
Safety tips to protect everyone:
- Don’t guess…Be sure! Read labels on all medicines and products. Follow the instructions exactly.
- Follow the dosing instructions on your medicines. More is not better.
- Turn on the lights before taking medicine. Put on your glasses if you wear them. Check to make sure you are taking the right product.
- Store food, medicines, and household products each in separate places.
- Keep household products in their original containers. Don’t pour contents into unmarked bottles or dishes used for food and beverages.
- Do not mix cleaning products together. You could make a poisonous gas.
- Install carbon monoxide alarms.
- Discard any leftover or expired medicines to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
Additional safety tips to protect children:
- Use CHILD-RESISTANT containers whenever possible. But remember–no container is 100% child-PROOF.
- Keep all medicines and household products up and away, out of the sight and reach of children. If possible, store them in a locked box or cabinet.
- Take your own medicine where children can’t watch. They learn by imitating you.
- Don’t call medicine “candy.”
- Use the measuring devices that come with liquid medicines. Don’t use kitchen spoons.
- Teach children to ask before touching or tasting anything they find on their own.
- Don’t give oral cough & cold medicines to a child younger than 2 without a doctor’s approval.