Student members of the Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists (PSHP) at University of the Sciences once again participated in national Poison Prevention Week activities by visiting the Parent-Infant Center located at 42nd and Spruce Streets. The PSHP is part of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and supports pharmacists and pharmacy students who help create awareness about many topics, one being poison prevention.
This year, eight University students taught two-year-olds about the dangers of poisons in the household. The visit provided new challenges as toddlers have short attention spans and are unable to form and express thoughts in complete sentences. However, the students were able to use creative games, Mr. Yuk stickers, and a short story titled
Medication is not Candy to help the toddlers learn to ask an adult before touching or tasting any potential poisons and other harmful household items. The Mr. Yuk stickers were especially helpful, as they provide a clear warning sign to children too young to read product labels. The goals of the visit were two-fold: to ensure that the toddlers understood that Mr. Yuk means “NO!” and to
always ask mom and dad before touching or tasting anything.
University students, MinJun Chen PharmD’12, Sandra La PharmD’12, Morgan Myers PharmD’14, Krishna Parbadia PharmD’12, Peter Hong PharmD’11, Michelle Lee PharmD’12, Ami Sheth PharmD’10, and Sora Kang PharmD ’12 participated in the visit to the Center. The event was a success with the help and guidance of Matthew Land, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration and former director of a poison control center.
The students provided the toddler’s parents and guardians with informational packets and extra Mr. Yuk stickers to enable them to continue poison awareness education at home. The parents were encouraged to work with their children to place the stickers on poisonous substances in their home
For more information on how to keep your children protected from the dangers of household poisons and medications, please see the following tips:
1) Keep all household chemical products and medicines (especially iron pills and food supplements containing iron) out of sight of youngsters and, preferably, locked them up when not in use. Medicines and household chemicals on kitchen counters or bathroom surfaces are very accessible to young children.
2) When these products are in use, never let young children out of your sight—even if you must take them along when answering the telephone or the doorbell.
3) Store all medicines separately from household products and store all household chemical products away from food.
4) Keep items in their original containers.
5) Leave the original labels on the products, and read the label before using.
6) Always leave the light on when giving or taking medicines.
7) Avoid taking medicines in front of children, since youngsters tend to imitate grown-ups.
8) Refer to medicine as “medicine”—not “candy.”
9) Clean-out the medicine cabinet periodically and safely dispose of unneeded medicines when the illness for which they were prescribed is over.
10) Finally, use child-resistant packaging properly by closing the container securely after use.
Source: New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (
www.njpies.org)
In the event of a poison emergency you can call the nearest Poison Control Center by dialing the national poison control hotline number 1-800-222-1222.