Fasten the lid, protect your kids!

Alice decided it was time to clean the kitchen thoroughly. She got ready while Misha, her 2 year old daughter, was playing in the adjacent dining room because she wanted to keep an eye on her. Alice started by mopping the floor with a disinfectant. She poured some, set the bottle aside on the floor and put the lid on the counter.

While she was rinsing the mop she was distracted for a moment. When she turned around, Misha had the disinfectant bottle in her hands. She was holding it to her mouth and was ready to drink from it! She realized Mika thought it was a bottle of fruit juice!

She immediately took the bottle from her hands. Suddenly she also noticed the bottle of bleach on the counter looked like a jug of milk. She realized that what had just happened so quickly could happen again. Alice was very worried for her daughter's health and called NPIC right away for more information.

Take Home Message

She told the NPIC specialist that she was really concerned about the experience and wanted to know how to protect her daughter.

The NPIC specialist explained that antimicrobials are pesticides because they kill germs. She said the risk when using pesticides depends on two things: toxicity and exposure. Children are more at risk from pesticides due to their small bodies and curious nature.

Alice told the NPIC specialist the EPA Registration numbers of the disinfectant and bleach from the bottles. Alice learned that her disinfectant contains pine oil as an active ingredient, and that the active ingredient for bleach is sodium hypochlorite. The specialist explained the health effects that can occur from exposure to these disinfectants. She reminded Alice that the risk of health effects also depends on how much a child contacts, and the concentration, or strength, of the product. Luckily, Alice stopped Misha in time to keep her from drinking any of the product.

The NPIC specialist gave Alice some ideas for protecting children:

• Read the label first and follow the label directions
• Inspect areas from a child's view to spot potential dangers
• Make sure that containers are closed (fasten the lid!) and keep them out of the reach of children
• Use safety latches on cabinets where pesticides are kept
• Teach your children not to touch pesticides or household products
• Never put pesticides into food containers

Alice felt much better knowing she had the tools to minimize the risks for Misha. The NPIC specialist provided Alice the national phone number for Poison Control Centers, 800-222-1222, in case of emergencies.