Is Your Home A Toxic Playground?

July 7, 2004

By Gerard Hooke, MD

A question.
Your home is your castle, a safe welcoming place, where you and your family, [including your pets], rest and play securely, far from the worries and dangers, of that sometimes scary, big outside world, right?

Answer.
Well, yes and no. Yes, your home is usually the most secure place that you and your family can be. However, I want to show you the scary side of your home, and encourage you to be vigilant in protecting your children and pets from what I will call, "The Hidden Hazards Of Home". Actually, they may be better called, "The Not So Hidden Hazards of Home".

Let's start with that cupboard under the kitchen sink. It is probably unsecured, and unfortunately, just about eye level for that wildly curious two-year-old you adore. The one whose motto is, "everything I see goes in my mouth". Now this cupboard is full of cleaning products, mostly liquids, and some of them are extremely dangerous to little folks. That bottle of drain cleaner is probably the most deadly liquid in your house, and should not be sharing the same space as any toddler. Metal cleaners should not be reachable either. These two can cause life-threatening burns to the airway and esophagus. Most dish soaps and liquid bleaches are only mildly toxic. However a very dangerous gas is released on mixing ammonia and bleach together. This should never be done.

Let's move on to the bathroom, which unfortunately has a lock on the inside, so your little two-year detective can explore your medicine cabinet, without fear of interruption. Now this offers more opportunity for lethal ingestion than anywhere else in the house. "Hmm let's see, what have we here, a whole bunch of colorful tablets. Oh boy, what fun!"Stop right there! Of all fatal pill ingestions in children up to age six, 30% are due to those shiny green M&Ms Mommy was taking during her recent pregnancy. Yes, I mean IRON pills. Dump them if you don't need them. In fact, dump any pills you no longer take. No hoarding. Do it today. Both Tylenol, [acetominophen] and Aspirin are very toxic if overdosed on, and should not be reachable by small children. By very toxic, I am talking kidney/liver failure and death!

Commonly stored, yet extremely dangerous medicines include at least the following:
· Antidepressants particularly the tricyclic variety
· All blood pressure and heart medicines
· Diabetes pills which lower blood sugar
· Cold medicines which often contain heart stimulants
· Pain pills, particularly the new high dose Oxycontins
· Blood thinners
· Skin patches containing pain meds or nitroglycerin
and these are just the tip of the toxic iceberg.

Before we leave the bathroom, check that floor level cupboard, and go through it carefully. "Let's see, toilet bowl cleaner." It’s usually a strong acid and a potential child killer. Do you really need it? Watch out for some surprises. Efferdentä denture cleaner tablets can be dangerous. Kwellä liquid, for scabies or head lice, is a brain toxin if swallowed, and even if overused on the skin. Acrylic nail removal liquid may release cyanide products. Pyridiumä tablets, used to treat bladder infections, are toxic. Those small disc-shaped watch and camera batteries contain mercury and acids. If swallowed, they are so dangerous, removal by a surgeon using a scope is recommended before they have a chance to open in the intestines.

Although I am focusing on ingestions in this article, I must mention guns and knives as particular dangers to your children's lives. Too many children are accidentally shot because of unsecured handguns. A trigger lock, and/or a locked gun cabinet are essential for all gun owners. That loaded handgun in your bedside table may help you sleep better at night, while endangering all curious children who live under your protective roof.

Any bottles of spirits in reach of your kids? A lethal blood alcohol level is easy to achieve in a two year old. Lighter fluid lying around?

Now take a stroll out to that rustic shed in your beautifully manicured back yard. What have we here? Three gallons of gas for the wheezy old mower. Potentially lethal if drunk or even inhaled. Insecticides are powerful nerve poisons. Antifreeze kills hundreds of dogs yearly. (Why they drink it, I do not know.) Rat poison does what is says, but it does not draw the line at rats, and considers kids and dogs to be fair game also. (Hey they all have four letters, right?) Foxglove and Oleander are two common toxic plants in Washington gardens. Are they in yours?

Washington State's excellent Poison Control Center received 90,000 calls last year. They should be your first call, if you believe your child may have ingested a toxin. Their number is 1-800-222-1222. Post it by your telephone. If your child already shows symptoms, call 911. It is better to let the trained medics come and evaluate your child, in case any immediate resuscitation is needed.

Is there any good news, you ask? Is my house such a dangerous place for my kids and animals?

Again, yes and no. Your House of Hidden Hazards is real. You can make it less dangerous by planning to keep potential poisons and other hazards away from the curiosity and hunger of little people, and four legged furry friends. Throw away toxins you don't need. Secure those you must keep. Have the Poison Control Center phone number handy [1-800-222-1222].

The Poison Control Center still advises that all households have a bottle of syrup of Ipecac available. This can induce vomiting, and may be considered very early after some ingestions. I stress that this is controversial, and can be very dangerous, and should never, I repeat, never be given without calling the Poison Control experts first. For example, making a child vomit who just drank a cup of gasoline is likely to cause a serious lung injury from aspiration, and even more direct access to the blood stream and brain.

"And the good news", you ask? Well, over a 4-year period nationally, with almost four millions calls studied, the incidence of combined death and serious injury from poisoning in children was 6 per 10,000 ingestions.

"Not too scary " you say? Well, not unless the love of your life is one of them. Keep our children and pets safe from The Hidden Hazards Of Home.