FAMILIES in Solihull are being urged by the Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents (RoSPA) to take action to protect their children from the risks of household cleaning products.
This follows the scheme’s success in 37 areas of the UK including Warwickshire, where 500,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries.
In Solihull, accidental poisonings accounted for 70 emergency admissions for children up to four years old between 2018 and 2021.
As part of the campaign, a handy magnetic notepad featuring key safety advice will be handed out to thousands of families by the health visitors and nursery nurses at clinics and home visits in Solihull.
Evelyn Bate, clinical lead, health visiting for north Solihull said: “Liquid detergent washing capsules (caps) and other household chemicals can cause serious injury to children.
“The effects of biting into a liquid detergent washing capsule include coughing, choking, trouble breathing, coma, and possibly death.
“The health visiting team are passionate about promoting the public health message to families to reduce accidents, Accident and Emergency attendance and hospital admissions, by working with families around home safety and accident prevention”.
Ashley Martin, RoSPA’s public health adviser, said: “The notepad acts as a constant reminder in family kitchens to store cleaning products out of reach, out of sight and in a locked cupboard.
“Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are most at risk of accidentally swallowing or getting household cleaning products, like liquid laundry capsules, into their eyes. Even products with a child-resistant closure cannot guarantee safety – they only reduce the risk by delaying access to the product.”
Visit www.rospa.com for more information.
