WARNING means that the chemical is harmful if swallowed. Ingestion of a teaspoon to an ounce could kill an average sized adult.
CAUTION means that the chemical is harmful if swallowed. Ingestion of an ounce to a pint could kill an average adult.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Unintentional Poisonings
The Statistics:
On average, U.S. poison centers handle one poison exposure every 13 seconds.
Generic substances (not all inclusive) involved in pediatric (under age of 6) exposures were:
Adhesives/glues, Arts/crafts/office supplies, Batteries, Chemicals, Cleaning substances, Cosmetics & personal care, Deodorizers, Dyes, Fertilizers, Paints & stripping agents, Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals/vitamins, Plants, Polishes & waxes, and Tobacco products.
Ingestion was the pathway of poisoning in 76.9% of the cases, followed by dermal (skin) (7.5%), inhalation (breathing) (5.8%), and ocular (eye) (5.2%).
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Statistics source: Watson W.A., Litovitz, T.L., Klein-Schwartz W., et al, 2003 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System. Am J Emerg Med 2004; 22:335-404.
No comments:
Post a Comment