What to Know
- The Upstate New York Poison Center revealed the top 5 products that children were poisoned with at home in 2022. Household cleaning products, like bleach and laundry pods, came in as the top product with the most exposure calls coming to the poison center.
- When it comes to the top 5 poisonings in 2022 for all age groups, there is an overlap with some products also found in the top ones among children.
- The Upstate New York Poison Center -- which is celebrating its 65th year -- said that there has been a "scary" trends they have seen since 2021: the largest number of calls to the poison center for cannabis products have to do with edibles, with the majority of the calls involving cases with children 5 years and under.
The Upstate New York Poison Center revealed the top 5 products that children were poisoned with at home in 2022.
Household cleaning products, like bleach and laundry pods, came in as the top product with the most exposure calls coming to the poison center.
The second product with the most calls into the poison center has to do with an ubiquitous product in many of our daily lives since the pandemic: hand sanitizer.
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In the third spot are analgesics, such as children's liquid acetaminophen. This is followed by foreign objects like toys, silica gel, and glowsticks.
Rounding the top 5 are dietary supplements, like melatonin.
When it comes to the top 5 poisonings in 2022 for all age groups, there is an overlap with some products also found in the top ones among children.
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Among all age groups, analgesics (like acetaminophen and ibuprofen) were the products with most exposure calls. These are followed by the household cleaning product bleach. In the third spot are the personal care products of hand sanitizers. Followed by antidepressants. Meanwhile, sedative/hypnotics/antipsychotics, like benzodiazepines, are in the last spot.
According to the center, its busiest months during 2022 were January, May and July, with the majority (93%) of all poison calls being exposure calls that took place at home, while 14% were suspected as suicide.
Additionally, the Upstate New York Poison Center experienced a "significant, worrisome number of cases" concerning the ingestion of cannabis edibles in children in 2022, according to the center.
The Upstate New York Poison Center -- which is celebrating its 65th year -- said that there has been a "scary" trends they have seen since 2021: the largest number of calls to the poison center for cannabis products have to do with edibles, with the majority of the calls involving cases with children 5 years and under.
In 2022, according to the poison center, its staff helped in nearly 50,000 cases overall for a variety of poisons. Of these, nearly 700 cases concerned cannabis products for all age groups -- a jump form 2020, a year in which the center handled 364 of these types of cases.
The increase in the numbers comes as New York is starting to roll out legal marijuana dispensaries after residents voted to legalize the use of recreational marijuana.
As cannabis products become more widely available in 2023, the center reminds the public that these products should be stored up and away from children -- additionally, one should consider buying a lock box to make sure these products are not within reach.
“Our goal is to prevent all poisonings from happening but, in the meantime, we will continue to educate our community about safe storage of cannabis products, medications and other potential poisons commonly available in people's homes,” the center's administrative director, Michele Caliva, said. “We remind you we are available to everyone, 24/7/365, whenever you need us, even to just ask a question at 1-800-222-1222.”
According to the poison center, there are a number of prevention tips the public an follow:
- Keep medicines and household products locked up and away from children, preferably in a medicine box;
- Store poisons in original containers;
- Use child-resistant packaging;
- Take your medicines where children can’t watch you do so.
