Poisoning occurs when toxic substances are inhaled, ingested, injected, or absorbed, injuring or destroying cells. Younger children are most at risk due to their small size and developing physiology. Common causes of childhood poisoning include cosmetics, household products, medications, petroleum distillates, and plants. Signs may include burns, chemical smells, nausea, vomiting, breathing issues, drowsiness, and confusion. General interventions include terminating exposure, reporting the poisoning, removing the poison, preventing aspiration, providing supportive care, and teaching parents prevention strategies. Effective approaches to reduce poisoning include removing toxic substances, replacing them with safer options, using child-resistant packaging, reducing toxicity, and establishing poison control centers
Poisoning occurs when toxic substances are inhaled, ingested, injected, or absorbed, injuring or destroying cells. Younger children are most at risk due to their small size and developing physiology. Common causes of childhood poisoning include cosmetics, household products, medications, petroleum distillates, and plants. Signs may include burns, chemical smells, nausea, vomiting, breathing issues, drowsiness, and confusion. General interventions include terminating exposure, reporting the poisoning, removing the poison, preventing aspiration, providing supportive care, and teaching parents prevention strategies. Effective approaches to reduce poisoning include removing toxic substances, replacing them with safer options, using child-resistant packaging, reducing toxicity, and establishing poison control centers
Poisoning occurs when toxic substances are inhaled, ingested, injected, or absorbed, injuring or destroying cells. Younger children are most at risk due to their small size and developing physiology. Common causes of childhood poisoning include cosmetics, household products, medications, petroleum distillates, and plants. Signs may include burns, chemical smells, nausea, vomiting, breathing issues, drowsiness, and confusion. General interventions include terminating exposure, reporting the poisoning, removing the poison, preventing aspiration, providing supportive care, and teaching parents prevention strategies. Effective approaches to reduce poisoning include removing toxic substances, replacing them with safer options, using child-resistant packaging, reducing toxicity, and establishing poison control centers
Poisoning occurs when toxic substances are inhaled, ingested, injected, or absorbed, injuring or destroying cells. Younger children are most at risk due to their small size and developing physiology. Common causes of childhood poisoning include cosmetics, household products, medications, petroleum distillates, and plants. Signs may include burns, chemical smells, nausea, vomiting, breathing issues, drowsiness, and confusion. General interventions include terminating exposure, reporting the poisoning, removing the poison, preventing aspiration, providing supportive care, and teaching parents prevention strategies. Effective approaches to reduce poisoning include removing toxic substances, replacing them with safer options, using child-resistant packaging, reducing toxicity, and establishing poison control centers
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Poisoning
Poisoning is when the cells are injured or destroyed by the inhalation, ingestion, injection, or absorption of a toxic substance. Key factors that predict the severity and outcome of poisoning are the nature, dose, formulation, and route of exposure of the poison; co-exposure to other poisons; state of nutrition of the child; age and pre-existing health conditions.
Risk factors o Younger children are more susceptible to poisoning because of their smaller size and less well-developed physiology, particularly as the toxicity of most substances relates to dose per kilogram of bodyweight. o Young children (younger than 4 years of age) are particularly susceptible to the ingestion of poisons, especially liquids, because they are very inquisitive, put most items in their mouths and are unaware of consequences. o Adolescents, on the other hand, are more aware of the consequences of their actions but peer pressure and risk-taking behavior can lead them to misuse alcohol or illicit drugs, leading to a fatality rate higher than in younger children.
Most common agents involved in childhood poisoning
o Cosmetics and personal care products such as perfume. o Household products such as bleach, disinfectants, detergents, cleaning agents, cosmetics, and vinegar. o Medications o Over-the-counter preparations such as such as paracetamol, cough/ cold remedies, vitamins and iron tablets, antihistamines, and anti- inflammatory drugs. o Prescription medications such as antidepressants, narcotics, analgesics, and illicit drugs. o Petroleum distillates such as paraffin, kerosene, gasoline, pesticides, and insecticides. o Poisonous plants. o Animal or insect bites.
Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of poisoning usually varies on its cause. The examples of finding that can be found on clients who experienced poisoning are as follows: o Burns or redness around the mouth and lips o Breath that smells like chemicals, such as gasoline or paint thinner o Nausea o Vomiting o Difficulty breathing o Drowsiness o Confusion or other altered mental status
Interventions General nursing care on children with poisoning 1. Terminate exposure 2. Report poisoning 3. Do not induce vomiting 4. Remove poison 5. Prevent aspiration when vomiting 6. Provide care for latent manifestations of poisoning 7. Support the child and the parent 8. Teach parents prevention strategies Proven effective approaches to reduce poisoning o Removing the poisoning agent from the environment (e.g. removal of poisonous plants; removal of fuel sources such as bottled kerosene). o Replacing the poisoning agent with one of lower toxicity (e.g. replacing aspirin with paracetamol; reformulating methylated spirits to include ethyl alcohol rather than methanol). o Legislation (and enforcement) of child-resistant packaging of necessary poisonous agents (e.g. medicines, household chemicals and other toxins). o Reducing toxicity of poisoning agents by packaging in non-lethal concentrations or doses. o Establishing a poison control center to triage poisonings, dispensing accurate and timely advice to caregivers and health facilities, directing first aid where appropriate, and referring more severe poisonings to treatment at a health facility.
