Household Items - A Danger To Young Children

Parents of young children may at times feel like they need to have eyes in the back of their heads! Too often child-proofing is not enough of a deterrent for the curious and resourceful child. Frequently, items consumed or used by adults are accidentally left within the range of a toddling toddler. Accidental ingestion of dangerous or toxic items by young children is totally preventable. Parents be on guard!

Below is a list of the agents most commonly consumed by children less than six years of age from 1995 - 1998:

Agents Ingested	Number of Children
Cosmetics and personal care products	568,856
Cleaning products	500,791
Analgesics	354,722
Plants	322,991
Cough and cold preparations	278,460
Foreign bodies	256,263
Topical agents	234,997
Pesticides	164,277
Vitamins	151,871
Hydorcarbons	106,269

Reference

*Litovitz TL, Klein-Schwartz W, Caravati EM, Youniss J, Crouch B, Lee S, 1998 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System, Am J Emergy Med 1999: 17:435-87

Last Editorial Review: 3/7/2000