Key points
Household poisons include medicines, cleaning products and chemicals. They might be in your kitchen, bathroom, laundry, bedroom, family area or storage rooms.
Store household poisons out of reach and out of sight in cupboards with child-resistant locks.
If you think your child has swallowed something poisonous, call the emergency hotline, 995 immediately.
Household poisons: How to keep your child safe
Household poisons are substances in your home that can cause harm when swallowed, inhaled or touched. They include medicines, detergents, cleaning products, toiletries, insecticides and other common household products.
Poisoning occurs most often in children under 5 years of age. It’s particularly common in children aged 1-3 years.
The first step in preventing childhood poisoning is to store household poisons up high in a locked cupboard, safely out of reach and out of sight of your child. If possible, the cupboard should be at least 1.5 m high and should have child-resistant locks.
Below we list common household poisons and substances that can harm your child, along with tips for keeping your child safe in different areas of your house.
If you think your child has swallowed something poisonous, stay calm. Take the item in question and your child to the phone and call the emergency hotline, 995 immediately. Don’t wait for symptoms to appear – call straight away.
Medicine cabinet poisons
Medicines are the most common cause of poisoning in young children. Often poisoning happens when medicine is left within reach. All family members should avoid leaving medicines in places that children can reach.
Here are some tips for keeping your child safe from medicine poisoning:
Put medicine away as soon as you’ve finished with it.
Store all medicines out of reach and out of sight in a locked cabinet or cupboard.
Ask your pharmacist to put child-resistant closures on your medicines, if they don’t already have them. This makes it harder for children to open medicines.
Avoid describing pills and tablets as ‘special candy’ – this can confuse your child, who might be tempted to try them.
Keep any measuring cups and droppers used for medicine separate and safe.
Make sure you’re giving the correct medication and dosage, especially at night – always read the label carefully and follow the directions.
When you’re giving medicine to a child, take care that other children can’t reach the medicine.
Dispose of any unwanted or out-of-date medications by returning them to the pharmacist or throwing them away.
Kitchen and laundry poisons
Items in the kitchen and laundry that can poison include:
alcohol
ammonia
baby bottle cleaners
dishwashing and laundry detergents
disinfectants and bleaches
drain cleaners
floor polish
kerosene
hand sanitiser
liquid cleaners like floor and toilet cleaners
matches
oven cleaners
rat and insect poisons
spray cleaners like window and bench sprays
dyes
stain removers and ironing aids.
Here are tips to keep your child safe from these poisons:
Store chemicals and cleaners out of sight and reach, in a child-resistant cupboard at all times.
Install child-resistant locks on cupboards.
Leave all chemicals and cleaners in their original containers – don’t pour them into used juice or soft drink bottles, which may confuse and attract young children
Put all chemicals and cleaners away immediately after use.
Safely dispose of any products no longer in use.
Consider using products that are less dangerous. For example, a mixture of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda cleans most surfaces.
Take particular care with dishwasher detergent:
Buy dishwashing powder or liquid in a child-resistant container and store it out of sight and reach of children. Dishwashing powder and liquid are corrosive. They burn and are extremely dangerous if swallowed.
Keep children away if you’re adding detergent to the dishwasher. When filling your dishwasher, put the detergent in last, then immediately close the machine.
Check for sludge or powder caking in or near the dispenser when emptying your dishwasher. This is particularly important if young children are helping to unload, because the sludge can cause serious mouth burns.
Bathroom poisons
Put the following items out of reach and/or in a bathroom cabinet that you can lock, because these can all be harmful to your child:
bathroom, shower or tile cleaners
deodorants
lipsticks and other make-up, including facial toner and nail polish remover
moisturisers and gels
mouthwash, perfume, hand sanitiser and aftershave – these can have a high percentage of alcohol
shampoos, conditioners, soaps and bodywash, especially those with food smells
toilet cleaners – fluid and solid.
Poisons in the bedroom and family area
Items in the bedroom or family area that can poison include:
air fresheners
alcohol
bubble-blowing solution
CD and DVD cleaners
cigarette butts
essential oils – for example, eucalyptus oil
glues
incense
mothballs
paints
cosmetics
potpourri.
Here are tips to keep your child safe from these poisons:
If you smoke, check that your cigarette is completely out and then throw it in the bin, rather than in an ashtray. To protect your child from second-hand and third-hand smoke, always smoke outside your house and ask visitors to do the same.
When family and friends visit, ask them to put handbags up out of reach.
If you live in an older house, it’s a good idea to buy a lead test kit at a hardware shop to check whether there’s lead-based paint in your house. Old houses and furniture might have been painted with lead-based paint, which is poisonous.
Poisons in the garage or storage room
Items in the garage or storage room that can poison include:
acids – for example, brick cleaning solutions
cement and lime
epoxies and resins – for example, adhesives, coatings, varnishes and solder mix
fertilisers
glues
herbicides and weed killers
kerosene
wheel cleaners and other car care products
paint and paint thinner
pesticides and snail killers
petrol
turpentine.
Here are tips to keep your child safe from these poisons:
Keep paints and solvents (like mineral turpentine, kerosene and white spirits) out of reach and out of sight all the time.
Lock your storage room or garage, as well as any storage boxes or cupboards inside the garage or shed.
Keep liquids in original containers, rather than pouring them into used soft drink or juice bottles, which may confuse and attract young children.
© raisingchildren.net.au, translated and adapted with permission
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