• Cleaning products.
• Prescription and over-the-counter medications.
• Cosmetics.
• Plants.
• Cough and cold preparations.
• Hydrocarbons, oils and fuels.
• Insect, snake and animal bites.
• Topical creams and ointments.
• Foreign bodies (such as coins and buttons).
• Chemicals.
• Illegal drugs.
• Wild mushrooms and berries.
• Vitamins, minerals and herbal products.
• Pesticides.

• Open and take all medicines only in a well-lighted area. Read all product labels and follow instructions carefully each time you give your child medicine. Mistakes are most likely to happen late at night, so make sure you turn on the light and read the label before giving the medicine.
• Clean out your medicine cabinet regularly and destroy outdated medicine. Do not keep prescription medicines after the illness for which they were prescribed has passed.
• Do not take anyone else's prescription medication or give your prescription medication to your child.
• Keep all medications, vitamins, poisons and other household chemicals out of reach of children and away from food. Never leave these items on a nightstand, windowsill, kitchen table or counter or bathroom counter. Keep purses off the floor and away from crawling babies. Lock them up, if possible.
• Never call medicine candy to encourage a child to take it.
• Never carry medicine in your purse. Children like to play with purses and discover what is inside.
• Always keep medications in child resistant containers, but never assume children cannot open child resistant containers. They can.
• Never serve or eat foods which smell or look spoiled.
• Use cleaning fluids in an area with good ventilation.
• Use safety latches on drawers and cupboards that hold chemicals, medicines or other dangerous items.
• Syrup of Ipecac never should be administered without first receiving advice from a poison center. Syrup of Ipecac and forcing a person to vomit are no longer considered to be safe or effective therapies for treatment of a swallowed poison or medication. Wisconsin Poison Center does not recommend routine stocking of Syrup of Ipecac in the home.
• Children learn by watching adults. Do not take medications or use household cleaners in your child's presence.
• Warn children never to eat or drink medications, vitamins, chemicals, plants or berries without your permission. Warn your children at an early age that pretty items can be harmful.
• Make sure your children or pets cannot find medications or other dangerous items in the trash. Discard medications in soft trash such as coffee grounds or vegetable peelings, then take them to an outside trash container right away. Do not flush medications down the toilet or sink.
• Never store poisonous substances in food or beverage containers. For example, never put paint thinner in a soda pop bottle. Children may not realize the familiar looking bottle contains a poisonous substance.
• Never use your mouth to siphon a liquid from one container to another. For example, do not use your mouth to siphon gasoline.
• Place a carbon monoxide detector in your home and have your heating system inspected annually.
• Never run your car in a closed garage.
• Protect your skin and eyes when using insecticides, solvents, herbicides and other chemicals.
• Call your local poison center for information on the proper disposal of chemical substances.

• The type of poisoning you suspect - drug, plant, chemical, insect sting.
• Brand name of poisoning agent, if known.
• Method of poisoning: ingestion, skin exposure, inhalation.
• Age and weight of person.
• When the person was poisoned.
• How much poison was involved.
• Caller's name and phone number.

Mr. Yuk stickers can help you teach young children about dangerous substances in your home. Mr. Yuk's green scowling face appears to say, "Don't touch!"

Mr. Yuk stickers work best when you and your child attach the stickers to substances together. Explain to your child that medicine bottles and all household products displaying the Mr. Yuk sticker are not to be eaten, smelled or touched. Then put these items out of your child's reach. To obtain Mr. Yuk stickers, call your local poison control center by dialing 1-800-222-1222.

The following checklist can serve as a guide to protect your children from poisons typically found in the home.

Kitchen

• Do not store household products under the sink.
• Do not keep medicines on a countertop or windowsill.
• Keep all kitchen cleansers out of reach of children.

• Clean the medicine chest often and discard old medications in an outside trash container.
• Do not store soaps, bathroom cleansers and drain cleaners beneath the bathroom sink. Keep these items out of reach of children.
• Keep mouthwash and toothpaste out of reach of children.
• Keep detergents, bleach and stain removers out of reach of children.

• Do not keep medicines on dressers, chests or bedside tables.
• Make sure there are no flaking paint chips on a crib, playpen or at windowsills.

• Make sure furniture and metal polish and detergents are stored on a high shelf, out of reach of children.
• Keep bug sprays out of reach of children.

• Keep bug sprays and weed killers out of reach of children.
• Do not store gasoline in anything but a red can specifically for gasoline.
• Turpentine and paint thinner should be stored in their original containers and out of reach.

Visit Safeville with your child to learn and play games regarding poison prevention while visiting the park, school, grocery store, police station and two homes. Children will learn what to do and how to stay safe around poisons.