Professor Aye Aye Chit discusses prevention of poisoning in 3 presentations. She defines a poison and types of poisonings such as acute, chronic, intentional, and unintentional. Poisoning is a major public health problem worldwide, especially for children under 5 and adolescents. Poisonings are preventable through proper storage of medications and chemicals, childproof lids, poison control center awareness, and education.

1. Prevention of Poisoning
Professor Aye Aye Chit
M.B.,B.S M.Med.Sc (Int: Med)
Dr.Med.Sc (Gen Med) Dip.Med.Ed
MRCP (UK) FRCP (Edin)
Pro-Rector (Academic), University of Medicine, Mandalay
Consultant Physician (Internal Medicine)
18/27/2018 Prof. Aye Aye Chit

2. A POISON
• a substance that causes illness or harm if someone eats,
drinks, touches it, or breathes it in.
• Can be solids, liquids, gases, or aerosols
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3. Types of Poisonings
• Acute
• Accidental poisoning
• Intentional deliberate self poisoning
• Exposure to toxic substances, chemicals
• Chronic
• Lead poisoning
• Arsenic poisoning from drinking water
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4. Acute Poisoning
• Intentional poisoning - with the intention of causing harm,
e.g. Suicide and Assault
• Unintentional poisoning: If the person taking or giving a
substance did not mean to cause harm,
e.g “Overdose” or Accidentally taken by a toddler
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5. Poisoning Problems
• Exposure to toxic chemicals are an important public health
problem worldwide
• According to a WHO estimate (WHO, 2000)
unintentional poisonings led to 300 000 deaths
> 70000 deaths occurred in children up to 14 years old
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6. Incidence of Poisoning
• Poisoning is the fourth most common cause of accidents
in children
• Ages less than 5 year - accidental
• Ages adolescents - intentional, suicide, assault, overdose
• More than 90% of toxic exposures in children occur in the home
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7. Acute Poisoning
leading cause of death from injuries in the United States as
reported by CDC and Prevention, National Center for Health
Statistics
U.S 2.5 million poison exposure per year are reported
Children/youth under age 19 - 66% of exposures
Adults over age 19 - 34% of exposures
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8. Risk Factors for Poisoning
• Unsupervised home setting
• Lower level of education
• African American race
• Males less than 5 years old
• Adolescent females
• Substance abuse
• Depressed adolescents
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9. Poisonings Are Preventable
•You CanYes
•We CanYes
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10.  Store all medications, including over-the-counter medications:
– Out of sight and reach of children
– In child-resistant bottles
– In locked cabinets
 Be sure that caps of medications and household products are
always on tight
 Do not remove child-resistant caps
 Never refer to medications or vitamins as “candy”
 Teach children about poisonous substances
Poison Prevention Tips
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12. Poison Prevention Tips Cont’d
 Keep purses and other bags with medications out of reach of
children; remind visitors to do the same
 Do not take medications or give medications to others in front of
children
 Store all household products and chemicals out of reach of
children
 Be sure to return household products and chemicals to a safe
place immediately after use
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13. Poison Prevention Tips Cont’d
 Store all household products in their original, labeled containers;
do not transfer to other containers such as soda cans, milk
cartons, or water jugs
 Throw away old medications and other potential poisons that are
not used anymore
 Use cabinet latches to prevent children from getting to household
products and medications
 Never leave a child alone with medications or household products
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14. Poison Prevention Tips Cont’d
 Know which plants in your home are toxic; be sure to keep
toxic plants out of reach of children
 Make sure there is no peeling or chipped paint in areas
where children eat, sleep or play
 Install functioning smoke detectors and carbon monoxide
detectors near sleeping areas
 Teach grandparents, other relatives and friends to take
precautions before children visit their homes
 Keep poison control center number near all telephones
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15. What is a Poisons Centre?
• is a specialized unit that advises on, and assists with, the prevention,
diagnosis and management of poisoning
• a minimum a poisons centre is an information service
• established poisons centres may also include a toxicology laboratory
and/or a clinical treatment unit
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16. Poison Control Centers
Free to public
24/7 availability - +959 73155342 (24/7)
Confidential treatment advice
Specially-trained doctors, nurses, and pharmacists
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17. When to Call a Poison Control Center
• If there’s been a poisoning
• If you’re concerned about a possible poisoning
• To ask a poisoning prevention question
• To ask for poison prevention materials
• Health education resources
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18. What does a poisons centre do?
• answers enquiries about exposure to chemical agents, including products,
pharmaceuticals, natural toxins, pesticides and industrial chemicals
• provides an assessment of whether a particular exposure is hazardous, and
information on the need for treatment and the kind of treatment that
should be given
• promotes the evidence-based, cost-effective management of poisoning and
to ensure that unnecessary or ineffective treatment is avoided
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19. Poison Control Centers
• Poison Control Brochure with First Aid Tips
• Poster Help from Poison Control is Free and Confidential
• Tip Card to Prevent Poisonings in Children
• Tip Card to Prevent Poisonings in Adults
• Tip Card to Prevent Poisonings in Seniors
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22. First Aid Measure
• SPLASHED in EYES?
Rinse with water for 15 minutes, Call Poison Control.
• SPILLED on SKIN?
Rinse with water for 15 minutes. Call Poison Control.
• BREATHED in a poison?
Get to fresh air. Call Poison Control.
• SWALLOWED a cleaning product?
Drink a glass of milk or water. Call Poison Control/ log on to poison.org.
• Anything else? Call Poison Control.
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23. Act Fast
If you think someone’s been poisoned — act fast!
Don’t wait to see what happens!
Call +959 73155342 (24/7), +951 379480 (Office hours)
Use the webPOISONCONTROL® app, or
Log on to poison.org
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24. Myanmar association
of
Poison Control Centers
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25. National Poison Prevention Week
Third week of March
Regional Poison Prevention Week 2019: March 17-23, 2019
National Poison Prevention Week 2020: March 15-21, 2020
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26. National Poison Prevention Week
The MAPCC and the national poison control centers invite you to
celebrate National Poison Prevention week in your community
by promoting poison prevention tips and the free emergency
services provide by poison control centers (the Poison Help
hotline).
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27. National Poison Prevention Week raises awareness of poison
prevention nationwide during the third full week of March
every year.
The week is an opportunity to highlight the dangers of
poisonings for people of all ages and promote community
involvement in poisoning prevention.
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28. General safety advice
• Children should be supervised at all times
• Keep floors free of toys and obstructions that can be tripped over
• Always use a securely fitted safety harness in a pram, pushchair or
highchair
• Never leave babies unattended on raised surfaces
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29. How to Prevent Poisonings
• Read and follow labels before taking or giving medicines
• Read and follow labels on household products. Don’t mix products!
• Use protective equipment when required
• Store products in original containers
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30. Prevention
• Most accidents can be prevented with increased vigilance amongst
parents and caregivers
• We save lives and reduce illness from poisonings.
• We reduce your health care costs.
• We work to prevent poisonings.
• Be Prepared.
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31. Environment
• This involves safety of the area children are exposed to
In the house includes kitchen/store/medicine cabinets-access
should be limited.
children like to imitate adults(learning mechanism)
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32. Education
• This involves increasing the awareness of the risk of accidents in
a variety of settings and providing information on ways of
reducing these risks
• information is not only for parents but also for caregivers
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33. Empowerment
• Local consultation and community involvement can generate a
strong sense of commitment and ownership. Accident
prevention initiatives, which have been planned by the
community, are more likely to reflect local need and therefore
encourage greater commitment.(crossing roads/gated
communities/provision of playgrounds)
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34. Law Enforcement
• There is legislation which relates to child safety. These
regulations ensure that the products we buy meet a reasonable
level of safety performance and that new dwellings meet an
acceptable level of safety.
• Child protection act
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