The next time you dig around for a set of car keys or your checkbook, you may want to look to see if there is anything that can be dangerous to a child.
In 2010, the University of Kansas Poison Control Center answered 14,102 calls from parents with kids aged five or younger who ingested some type of dangerous substance.
Most calls came from parents with kids who consumed things that are commonly found in mom’s purse including medications and cosmetics.
Here is a list of substances that children under five were exposed to:
1. Medication – 6,044
2. Cosmetics – 1,754
3. Cleaning Substances – 1,328
4. Foreign – 725
5. Vitamins – 585
6. Pesticides – 558
7. Plants – 370
8. Electrolytes and Minerals – 293
9. Dietary Supplement/Herbals – 281
10. Deodorizers – 275
One Mom’s Story
Kenna Boggs has an active 2-year-old daughter named Lily. Like most children, Lily is curious.
In August, Lily got into her mom's purse, rummaged around and discovered a medicine bottle inside.
Boggs walked into the living room to see a white powdery substance in Lily’s mouth along with a bottle of Excedrin and a handful of tablets in Lily’s hand.
“It’s scary because you don't know first of all what it's going to do or what the reaction is,” Boggs said.
Kenna called the Poison Control center with the University of Kansas Hospital. She answered a series of questions. How old is she? How much does she weigh? How much did she swallow?
The voice on the other end of the line eventually told Kenna some good news: Lily should be fine. She just needed to drink some water.
It took only a moment for the toddler to get into her mom’s purse while it sat on the living room sofa.
These days, Kenna keeps everything under lock and key.
Experts say it is easy to find potential problems
While a purse is important to any mom, if a child gets into it, it can quickly lead to a trip to the emergency room.
"Actually the purse is one of the most…dangerous things out there," said Daling McMahon, Education Coordinator with KU’s Poison Control Center.
He teaches about the hidden dangers found in many purses. Everything from make-up to medications can be a threat to a curious kid.
"It's mom's purse, it's her personal world… Don’t let the kids dig through it because there's stuff in there that's not good for them and can hurt them,” he recently told one of his classes.
Experts say it is easy to unearth some type of threat in a purse to a child Some of the most common items include:
1. Nail polish
2. Hand sanitizer
3. Cigarettes, lighters, even cigarette gum, which can easily be mistaken for regular gum
4. Eye drops like Visine
5. Pill boxes which remind the user when to take the medication. They are easy for kids to open.
What to do in case of an accidental poisoning
Experts recommend parents follow a few simple rules to keep kids safe:
1. When in a car, do not place the purse next to the car seat for the child to play with. Place the bag on the car’s floor board where it is out of reach.
2. Go through your purse, remove anything that may be dangerous and place in a safe, locked drawer so the child cannot get into it.
3. Avoid using pill reminders. Many grandparents use them. They are easy for a child to access. In fact, child resistance only means that it took more than five minutes for 85 percent of children to open a bottle. It does not mean child-proof.
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