Did you know that March 14th started the beginning of Poison Prevention Week??

We all see the number to call on the backs of products, but have you ever needed them?  I confess that being a RN I always thought I was smart enough to never get in a situation to need to call.  However, I was very wrong.  When my twins were  2 years old they climbed out of their beds while we were traveling and got into my toiletry bag (which I thought was put away).  They were down for a nap and we heard nothing since we were in another area of the house.  When I went in to get them I found my bottle of prenatal vitamins opened and they were eating some of the pills.  My brain instantly went back to lessons learned in school about iron being a leading cause of poisoning in children under 6.

My instinct was to grab up the kiddos and run to the phone.  We called the center for Florida and they quickly calmed me down and talked us through everything.  We ended up okay; they had each gotten one tablet and the center said that they were fine but that we needed to stay put, get them to drink lots, and keep an eye on them.  It was a huge blessing to know that we didn’t need to rush anywhere and get educated advice on what to do.

Not everyone knows this wonderful services exsits or that it is FREE.  We all have access to a center and many of you even have a center in your local area.

Many of the calls that they get each week are about children under the age of 6 and, just as we learned, more than 80% of the callers are given excellent advice and they do not have to go in for further medical treatment.

The Palmetto Poison Center is teaming up with Southern Savers this week to try to increase awareness.  Many centers provide:

• Treatment advice for poison related emergencies/information to the public and health care professionals 24 hours a day, free of charge.

• Free public education programs throughout the state (really to anyone that will listen)

• Public service announcements on poisoning related topics to media on an as-needed-basis (Holiday hazards, poisoning trends, etc..)

• A website where our citizens can order free materials like Mr. Yuk stickers, coloring books, magnets, etc…

The Palmetto Poison Center wants to increase the number of folks that they are helping and educating.    So…  Head over to their Facebook page and become a fan. They put out great safety tips and announcements through facebook.

After you become a fan come back here and leave a comment.  For every 100 fans that they get this week 1 of you will a FREE Mr. Yuk t-shirt.  So if they get 1000 new fans that’s 10 shirts!

I will announce all the t-shirt winners Friday afternoon.