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the HERALD Community Wednesday 1992 Be aware of child poison dangers By JOANNE KOSKIE Herald Special If statistics hold true for more than children m British Columbia will be treated or hospitalized for poisoning more than 1 in Nova Scotia and more than in Ontario An estimated of these cases will result in death What steps can you take to en sure that your child won be one of them Dr Margaret Wood Paediatn at Toronto Hospital For Sick Children agrees that it s a challenge to foresee the and imagination of a child Go through your house from top to bottom and sort with little people in mind Dr Wood in her book entitled The Baby and Child Care Quick Reference Encyclopedia Throw out securely package or put well away anything that isn t suitable to leave about Research shows that children between the age of one and four are most likely to have an in the home The most re cent data from Statistics Canada shows that about half of the cases of poisoning reported occurred in children of that age group At the Ontano Regional Poison Information Centre located at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto about 44 per cent of reported poisonings occur in children under five Valerie Wilkins R a ten year veteran and manager of the Poison Control Centre in Toronto agrees that no matter how careful a parent is accidents can and will happen I always tell parent groups that prevention is the first line of defence against accidental poisoning says Wilkins The Centre averages calls each year regarding inges by children Household cleaning products 129 per cent followed by plants per cent and children s medication per cent are most commonly reported Poison pretention can save a child life Accidents can be avoided by storing cleaning pro ducts separate from food and well out of reach of pre schoolers Safety latches on cup board doors add extra security In her book Wood recom mends throwing away toxic pro ducts like rat poison roach powder borax carbolic acid lye caustic soda and strong acids Some chemical products have been available for many years in containers that are tamper evident and won t spill or leak The sealed aerosol can is one ex ample This type of container dispenses a small amount of pro duct making it difficult for a child to Ingest a harmful quantity And parents can now use aerosols without concern since the in dustry has removed ozone Parenting Tips eoroevwn Parent- Child Centre ByALERIECLINGHAMRN A Frequently am asked what a parent should do about negative behavior such as head banging in infancy defiance in toddlers and aggression in young school age children In future columns I shall discuss some specific behaviors First here are some general pnn regarding negative behavior Study these carefully the quiz comes next time It is for mother who is at home with small children to what another means when she The kids ire driving me crazy if we are going to do anything about the situation we must by exactly and specificalh the of child we would tall negative Often confusion lots of activity is in itself is enough to drive us crazy But when we and certain scenes throughout the day is there one specific ac ion of one child that is negative Step 1 Identify What is the specific offending behavior Step 2 Frequency How often does this child act in this particular way Write down each time in a day for a week that the particular behavior occurs Often because of everything else that is going on in a young family this frequency seems much higher than it really is Sometimes just clearly identifying the behavior diminishes its quency Sometimes we just realize that the behavior is not so regular after all and we become reassured that our child is not really deviant After counting the number of times this negative action occurs we should try to look at the context in which it happens Step Context When does this occur Try to note if the child misbehaves this way before a meal or a nap when siblings are near by or when grandparents visit Is there a pattern or some precipitating factor Again sometimes by answering the questions the solution becomes evident The final step is assessing why this particular behavior is chosen We will discuss more about that next time and as we discuss common situations Valerie Cunningham a nurse in independent practice of a variety of parenting courses workshops and private consul a She may be reached at 6398 CUT YOUR OVERHEAD SAVINGS on a perm 10 2 SAVINGS on a haircut EXPIRES FEBRUARY Not valid with other offers One coupon per customer EXPIRES FEBRUARY 29 Not valid other offers One coupon per customer Honing Sat damaging chlorofluorocarbon propel Ian from all con sumer aerosol products More recent developments in safer products include child resistant caps on bottles of medicine or cleaners and the use of Bittrex a bittenng agent that manufacurera add to highly corrosive products like dram cleaner to discourage ingestion Remember that this is only a deterent just one swallow of a corrosive product can cause serious harm toa child Wilkins also cautions parents against removing products from their original containers Manufacturers are required by law to clearly list ingredients and warning symbols Labels on premixed products in bottles tubes jar and aerosol cans pro vide vital information in case of an accident Without the reintroduction of do it yourself cleaners adds Wilkins parents should recognize that environmentally safe claims don always mean toxic Do it yourselfers should be aware that mixing the wrong chemical substances can produce toxic even deadly gases Always label the contents clearly on each bottle House plants are another ma jor cause of child poisonings around the home It important to know the names of your plants and whether or not they re hazards Poisonous house plants and flowers include dieffenbachia lily daffodil hyacinth and oleander and mistletoe Contrary to popular belief poinsettias are toxic What should you do if after all your preventative steps your child ingests a potentially harm substance First identify the suspected poison the amount taken and when it was ingested Then phone the Poison Control Centre in your area and report the ingestion Be sure to keep the telephone number handy in case of emergency With that information nurse on call will make an according to the age weight and medical history of your child Keep syrup of ipecac which induces vomiting in the medicine cabinet and use only as directed by Poison Control staff or your family doctor For more information on child proofing your home and poison call or write your Poison Control Centre provincial Health Department or a Health and Welfare Canada office in your area Better medical service Georgetown and District Memorial hospital announced Friday the medical staff and many of the nursing staff work in the emergency department have completed an advanced car life support program The medical authorities and board of trustee in the hospital compliment the doctors and nurses for this successful under taking The advanced cardiac life support program is designed to meet the needs of emergency in tensive care unit staff and other health care providers whose work requires rapid response to cardiac emergencies Don Trant the Chief of Staff at the hospital reports that the 11 doctors and six nurses who participated m the course attend lectures small group workshops and simulated cardiac arrest to acquire skills in the various aspects of cardiac resuscitation Specific topics covered included rapid inter of abnormal heart rhythms defibrillation assisted airway breathing administration of cardiovascular drugs and use of portable pacemakers The participants in the course had already completed a cardiac We support program in the last 12 months The hospital congratulates the medical and nursing staff for the continued commitment to pro vide quality care to the iy Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital is an bed primary acute care and long term care facility As a primary health care provider the hospital is committed to identifying health care needs for Hills and developing programs in cooperation with other health agencies DOMINION GARDENS HWY MANE AVE I GulphSt GEORGETOWN STORE MONFW SAT SUN Sale Starts Wed Feb 5 to Sat Feb 9 595 6 POTTED SPRING BULBS POTTED ASSORTED TROPICAL PLANTS 6 POTTED ASSORTED TROPICAL PLANTS 5 POTTED DELUXE POSY VIOLETS LARGE SELECTION OF NEW PLANTERS ASSORTED SIZES AND PATTERNS