ACCIDENTS TRACED TO THE KITCHEN

Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 16

ACCIDENTS TRACED TO THE KITCHEN

More than 40 per cent, of all poisoning accidents to children under five happen in the kitchen, with another 22 per cent, in the bathroom. The bedroom and livingroom come next, with everywhere else—including the outdoors—a long way behind. In the majority of cases, the things responsible for the poisoning are not in their customary places.

These are some results of a five-year investigation by the National Clearing-house for Poison Control Centres, reported in the American Journal of Public Health. "The American figures could be most valuable to New Zealand," Dr. F. A. de Hamel, Deputy-Medical Officer of Health in Christchurch, said yesterday. “Poisoning accidents to young children are a big problem in this country. In 1957, the year described in the Health Department’s special report on domestic accidents, 697 children under five were treated in hospital after poisoning accidents, and no doubt as many more were treated at home.” American statistics, Dr. de

Hamel said, were even more likely to be directly applicable to New Zealand than United Kingdom figures would be, since living conditions here were nearer those of the United States than of Britain. In many cases the poisons were not in their original containers, the American report said, and this was especially important where very young children were concerned. In all, 15,000 poisoning incidents were analysed. Ninety per cent, of these incidents concerned children under five. The most dangerous age was 18 to 24 months, almost a quarter of the total number of poisonings occurring in this agegroup. Various types of medicines were responsible for about half the poisoning incidents reported. Aspirin caused 20 per cent, of all incidents. A great deal of the medicine was in special wraps or was in some other way specially prepared to make it attractive to children. Of the poisonous or potentially poisonous substances which were not in their original containers when consumed petroleum products. pesticides, and paint solvents were the most frequent offenders. In 84 per cent, of the cases where poisoning accidents occurred to children under five, the child was under parental supervision, and in another 9 per cent, an adult other than the parent was in charge. Only in 7 per cent, of the cases was the child unsupervised or in the care of older children. Just more than half the young children <56 per cent, of those under five) who met with poisoning accidents were boys. In the five to nine age-group, the boys still predominated; at 10-14, males and females were equally involved; among older teen-agers and adults, there was a big preponderance of women.

Two-year-olds were the biggest risk as far as taking medicines and cosmetics was concerned. Household cleaning and polishing agents, pesticides, petroleum products, and paint and paint solvents were taken most frequently by one-year-olds. Most of the poisons consumed by the youngest children were on the floor or on the tops of low furniture, but the contents of cabinets and cupboards provided the greatest hazard for three and four-year-olds.

[The 1957 New Zealand statistics for the under-fives included 201 cases of poisoning by drugs, 144 by petroleum and itsderivates (including 95 by kerosene), 175 by industrial solvents and corrosive fluids, and 51 by weedkillers and garden sprays.l