ER doctors deal with all sorts of medical predicaments at the hospital and because of this, they know what everyday items pose the most risks in the household, especially when around children. Accidents are preventable and doctors recommend either getting rid of the following household items or ensuring that they are out of your child's reach.
1) Button batteries
Button batteries are commonly used for portable lights, remote control, watches, calculators and toys, but these are risky for curious little kids. They might try to eat these without your knowledge. For your children's safety, avoid purchasing toys that require this type of battery and store products properly so that they don't have access to it. Recycle used button batteries safely too.
"When a coin gets stuck, it often passes on its own. But when a button battery gets stuck, the battery acid can eat through the wall of the esophagus, causing lifelong disability," pediatric doctor David J. Mathison said.
2) Instant noodles
Instant noodles in Styrofoam containers are conveniently cooked in the microwave or filled with boiling water. However, the container is likely to get very hot. If you have eager and hungry children to feed, they could burn themselves. "Parents forget how hot these are when they're on the counter, waiting to be pulled off by a handsy toddler," Mathison said.
Besides, microwaving Styrofoam is also not recommended as the material has chemical components that leech through the food when heated. Instead, transfer the contents of the noodles into glass or ceramic containers before heating in the microwave.
3) Swimming Pool
"Unfortunately, every summer we see kids - even ones who can swim -accidentally fall into a pool and drown," NYU Langone Medical Center doctor Dara Krass said. "For me, it is the fact that drowning occurs so fast, and often silently, that prevents me from ever wanting one at my house."
This doesn't mean you shouldn't let your kids enjoy swimming altogether. Kass takes her children to pool centers, but at home, she's more assured that there's less risk because there is no pool.
4) Guns
Gun safety is often a sensitive topic of debate, but some ER doctors have treated enough gun victims to know guns are not something they want to keep at home. "I'm Libertarian enough to be conceptually pro-gun, but I've taken care of enough teenage suicides and accidental childhood deaths to not even let my kids go to houses where I know there's a gun," said Atlanta pediatric emergency doctor Amy Baxter.
In Florida, doctors are pushing to amend a state law that limits them from asking gun questions or gun ownership from patients in light of the rising cases of gun violence in the home. They say they should be able to ask and advise patients about gun use.
5) Pain pills
There's no reason to keep pain pills once you're cured of the condition that has been ailing you, but apparently some still keep leftover medicines especially when the medicine is difficult to obtain without a prescription. "We've had more kids coming in with overdoses from hydrocodone and oxycodone pain drugs. Just one extended-release pill can kill a child," Pittsburgh doctor Fernando Mirarchi said.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden notes the rise in opioid overdoses among American families. "It's happening all over the country, in our largest cities and smallest towns; to our parents, children, siblings, friends, neighbors and co-workers," he wrote.
The agency has issued new guidelines for prescription medication and its use, which hospitals and families should look into.
