University of Virginia Health System

U.VA. HEALTH SYSTEM OFFERS TIPS FOR A SAFE THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is a time for family, sharing, and in these turbulent times, counting one's blessings. However, poison safety should not take a back seat to holiday festivities. Poison safety is a concern for everyone during Thanksgiving, says Sue Kell, education coordinator of the University of Virginia Health System Blue Ridge Poison Center. During the Thanksgiving holidays, the poison center receives calls ranging from food safety to children swallowing someone else's medicine.

Many poison cases are preventable. The Poison Center offers these tips for poison-proofing Thanksgiving gatherings:

• Wash your hands often while cooking, keep raw meats and ready-to-eat foods separate, cook foods to proper temperatures and refrigerate cooked foods promptly in temperatures below 40°F.
  
  
• Keep medicine, cleaners and toxic plants, out of the reach of children.
  
  
• Remember poison safety in the car. Children in car seats can reach farther than expected. Purses containing medications and cosmetics are very appealing to youngsters.
  
  
• Check for faulty car exhausts, furnaces and woodstoves. They can be sources for carbon monoxide.

For more information, call the Blue Ridge Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.

November 14, 2001