The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

National Poison Prevention Week, March 21-27

How safe do you think your house is of poisonous household products? Poison is all around us, affecting anyone, anytime. The best preventative measure to avoid poisoning, is to take the time to look around for poisonous products which are at an accessible by height by children, use child resistant closures and use the products according to the manufacturer’s label.

One household product to be are of is liquid laundry detergent packets. These contain highly concentrated amounts of the detergents. They need to be stored in the container they came in with label attached, closed shut tightly and up high out of the reach and sight of children. Do not let children handle them, just handling the packets could be a poison exposure to children. The coating dissolves quickly, even with the smallest amount of water, so you should handle them with dry hands. Do not open the packets to use as a pretreatment or to wash clothing by hand.

Symptoms of poisoning from liquid detergent packets and other poisons include excessive vomiting, wheezing and gasping. Some people get very sleepy. There are reports of scratches to the eyes when the poison has gotten in the eyes.

If you suspect poisoning of any kind, call the Poison Help Line immediately at 1-800-222-1222. If you do not already have this posted next to your phones in the house and saved in your mobile phone, take a few moments and do it.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers has scheduled a series of educational offerings during National Poison Prevention Week. The information is available at aapcc.org/nppw-2021 or http://www.facebook.com/aapcc. These include a virtual storytime, trivia Kahoot! game and a virtual escape room.

To learn more, contact Janell at the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3036, janellb@montana.edu or in the green building next to the Chouteau County Courthouse at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton.

Follow us on Facebook @ChouteauCountyExtension to keep up to date on what is happening in Chouteau County Extension and 4-H.

Montana State University, US Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.