Episode 54: National Poison Prevention Week

In this episode of the Just Say Something podcast, host Phillip Clark discusses National Poison Prevention Week, which takes place during the week of March 17th. This year's theme is "When the Unexpected Happens, Poison Help is Here for You."

Phillip shares alarming statistics about poisonings in America, noting that someone calls a poison center every 15 seconds, resulting in over 2 million calls annually. He explains that poisonings can affect anyone regardless of age, from toddlers accessing cleaning supplies to teens experimenting with substances to adults taking incorrect medication doses.

The episode covers what constitutes a poisoning: any substance swallowed, breathed, touched, or injected that can cause sickness or death. Phillip emphasizes that common household items like medications, cleaning products, cosmetics, and even vitamins can be dangerous when used incorrectly.

The Poison Help hotline [phone]) connects callers to their local poison center 24/7, free of charge. The line is staffed by medical professionals trained in toxicology who can advise on medication interactions, accidental ingestions, snake bites, and food poisoning. Approximately 85% of poison exposures can be managed at home with expert guidance, potentially avoiding unnecessary emergency room visits.

Key prevention strategies include storing medications and household products out of children's reach, keeping products in original containers, following product labels carefully, installing carbon monoxide detectors, and programming the poison help number into your phone. Phillip also mentions the Power Collective initiative, which has distributed approximately 60,000 lockable prescription vials in South Carolina! Get your own by visiting PowerCollectiveSC.com.

Phlliip addresses common misconceptions about poisoning, such as outdated advice to induce vomiting (which can cause more harm), the belief that poisoning always shows immediate symptoms, and the assumption that natural products are always safe.

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