When Kelly Ledford was 6, she liked the smell of perfume so much that she decided to drink it.
Ms. Ledford is now community education specialist at the Southeast Texas Poison Center in Galveston and she brought an important message to students at East Campus: Protect you and your family from poisons
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Poisons come in many forms and can be all over the household, Ms. Ledford said. Thousands of children in Texas swallow medicines, polishes, drain cleaners, insecticides and garage products. Ms. Ledford exhibited a billboard that featured items with words “candy or medicine” and displayed dead venomous snakes for the students to view. She also showed a poison prevention video to the younger students to drive home her message.
Key points: Medicine is not candy, only take medicine from a trusted adult, tell an adult if you feel sick, always ask an adult before you touch, smell or taste anything and take only the number of vitamins a grown-up gives you. If you are unsure of what you have, “stay away,” Ms. Ledford repeatedly told the students. She also handed out “Poison Help” stickers with a 24/7 emergency number, 1-800-222-1222, and emphasized that the service is free. “That number will never change. Program it into your cell phone and the phone of family members.” Ms. Ledford, a former school teacher, asked the students lots of questions and presented to teachers a packet for students that included a Position Prevention activity book and a Poison Prevention Guide.
“Our children learned a lot,” Nurse Anna Medina said after the sessions to students by grade level. “They were excited about going home and telling their parents about the Poison Control Center and prevention tips to make their home a safer place." The center is part of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.