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Safety
The American Association of Poison Control Centers Celebrates the 55th Annual National Poison Prevention Week
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Mar 15, 2017 - 10:07:00 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - ALEXANDRIA, VA –The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) will unite with the nation’s 55 poison centers to celebrate the 55th Annual National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), March 19-25, 2017, a week dedicated to raising awareness about poisoning in the U.S. and highlighting specific ways to prevent it.

“From medication mishaps to poisonous outdoor exposures, poisonings can happen anywhere, at any time, and to anyone,” said Stephen T. Kaminski, JD, AAPCC CEO and Executive Director. “During National Poisoning Prevention Week, poison centers want to remind the public that while poisoning is the leading cause of injury death in the United States, many poisonings are preventable, and expert help is always just a phone call away.”

AAPCC also proudly participates in the National Poisoning Prevention Council, a group of representatives from a diverse array of stakeholder organizations and the official sponsor of NPPW.  The Council has established the following overarching themes of National Poison Prevention Week: Children Act Fast; So Do Poisons and Poisonings Span a Lifetime. Additionally, the following daily themes will be observed during the week:

While most poisoning deaths are due to the misuse and abuse of licit and illicit drugs, poison exposures can involve a vast array of substances and occur in many ways. In 2015, around 57 percent of all exposure cases involved pharmaceuticals. Other exposures were to household products, plants, mushrooms, pesticides, animal bites and stings, carbon monoxide, and many other types of non-pharmaceutical substances. Ingestion was the route of exposure in almost 84 percent of the cases in 2015. However, people were also exposed to potentially dangerous substances through the lungs, skin, eyes, and other routes.

In 2015 someone called the poison center about a human exposure every 14.5 seconds. “Approximately 67 percent of the 2.2 million exposure cases reported to poison centers in 2015 were treated at the exposure site, saving American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in medical expenses,” said Kaminski.  “Our nation’s poison control system continues to play a crucial role in keeping Americans safe.  By programming the Poison Help phone number, 1 (800) 222-1222, into your phone and posting it somewhere visible in your home, you can be ready in the event of a poison emergency or if you or your loved ones need information.”

 

For additional information on National Poison Prevention Week, along with poison prevention tips and resources, visit AAPCC’s National Poison Prevention Week webpage at:http://www.aapcc.org/prevention/nppw/.

Individuals and organizations who would like to follow social media content pertaining to NPPW should use and search for the hashtags #NPPW17 and #PreventPoison.

For more information, the media may contact Angela Gonzales, AAPCC Associate Manager, Communications and Outreach, at 703-894-1865 or [email protected].

AAPCC supports the nation’s 55 poison center members in their efforts to treat and prevent drug, consumer product, animal, environmental and food poisoning. Members staff the Poison Help hotline at 1-800-222-1222 that provides free, confidential, expert medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year from toxicology specialists, including nurses, pharmacists, physicians and poison information providers. In addition, AAPCC maintains the only poison information and surveillance database in the United States, providing real-time monitoring of unusual poisoning patterns, chemical exposures and other emerging public health hazards. AAPCC partners with federal agencies such as HRSA, CDC, FDA and EPA, as well as private industry. Be prepared for a poisoning emergency and program the Poison Help phone number into your mobile telephone today – 1 (800) 222-1222.

To learn more, visit www.aapcc.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@AAPCC).

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