Poisoning ranks next to falls and motor vehicle collisions as the third most frequent type of injury leading to hospitalization in Canada. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), there were 28,581 poisoning cases admitted to Canadian hospitals in 1999-2000, out of a total 197,002 admissions for all injuries. Medications are the most common substances in all poisonings.
Most poisonings in Canada are intentionally self-inflicted. The CIHI statistics show the average age of hospital cases rose from 33.6 years in 1995-1996, to 36.3 years in 1999-2000, and 60 percent of the patients were female. About 68 percent of all poisoning admissions were classified as suicide and self-inflicted. An additional 10 percent (primarily in the age groups with high rates of intentional injury) are of undetermined intent.
Child Safety Precautions
Parents with small children must take safety precautions to eliminate the risk of a child coming in to contact with poisons. Many common products are potentially life threatening if ingested, including medications, some house plants, cleaning products, alcohol and other substances in the home workshop or garage. First and foremost, keep those products out of sight and out of reach, preferably locked up. Buy products in child-resistant containers with safety caps and keep them in their original containers so they will be easily identified.
Always administer medicine according to the directions. Adults should take their medications out of the sight of children, and should never refer to medicine as "candy."
Supervision is critical. When using cleaning products never let young children out of your sight. If the phone or doorbell rings, take either the child or the product with you when you answer. When you have visitors, keep purses and other personal belongings out of reach; they may contain medicines or other items that could be harmful to a curious toddler. Similar precautions apply to visits to homes that have not been child-proofed.
Deliberate Self-harm
Except for children under 10 and adults 65 and over, most poisonings are deliberate self-harm. Tragically, poisonous substances are often used to commit suicide. Among women, drug overdoses are the most common method of suicide; men are most likely to choose firearms. Firearms are instantly lethal, whereas drug overdose casualties often end up in hospital.
The highest incidence of self-inflicted poisoning is among women in their 20s to 40s who use tranquillizers, analgesics, anti-depressants and other psychotropic medications. The statistics point to an urgent need to focus on mental health and suicide prevention issues in this group.
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