Unintentional poisoning is a major cause of injury and hospital admissions for children in Australia. Most incidents occur in children aged under 5 years of age, with children aged one to three years at greatest risk.
Many products used in our homes can be potentially harmful for children. Common poisonous items found in and around our homes include medicines (both prescription medicines and over the counter products such as everyday paracetamol), cleaning products, dishwasher powder, fertilisers, pesticides, bleaches and cosmetics.
Most child poisoning incidents occur due to unsupervised access, many which occur when poisons are left out after being used or not stored in a safe place, out of reach of children.
For more information on how to prevent poisoning in your home, please view our poisoning fact sheet below.
First Aid for poisoning
- Never try to induce vomiting.
- Pick up the product container and take it with you to the phone – the Poisons Information Centre will want to know what ingredients are in the product.
- Phone the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 (24 hours a day, Australia wide). They will then advise you on what to do next.
