New Mexico's First Lady, Dee Johnson, says the number of babies and young children exposed to poisons is on the rise, which prompted the governor to declare March "New Mexico Poison Awareness Month."
Speaking Tuesday at a news conference at UNM Day Care Center, Johnson read aloud a proclamation signed by her husband that declares March to be a month that promotes the teaching of students and new parents about the dangers of chemicals and toxic exposures to young children.
"The bottle of medicine may be child resistant but that doesn't mean it is childproof," she said. "It's amazing how we can't open the bottles but our children can."
Johnson said the number of senior citizens who are poisoned also is on the rise and stressed the importance of teaching them the danger of mixing medications.
"Seniors often take many different drugs or medications to treat several different diseases at the same time, and as the body grows older, the kidneys and liver begin to function less efficiently," Johnson said.
Jess Benson, UNM pharmacy practice professor and director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, said the center received about 40,000 calls in 2000 with people seeking information about possible poisonings.
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"Each call is answered by a pharmacist specially trained in the management of poisoning or physicians specializing in medical toxicology," Benson said.
Loretta Esquibel, New Mexico Poison Center's Health educator, said the center makes a strong effort to provide the public with information about how to prevent poisonings.
"Poisoning is something we can and must prevent," Esquibel said.
The center has a 24-hour, 365-day toll-free hotline that provides emergency information on treating toxic exposure. The center is a public service program of UNM Health Sciences Center and is affiliated with the College of Pharmacy.
Johnson said she needed to call the center when her son was very young and drank the plant food she used in her garden. She said that she was very pleased with the information the specialist provided.
"It was comforting to have the representative call back later that night to make sure my son was OK," she said.
According to statistics provided by the poison center, more than one million unintentional poisonings occurred among children under the age of 5 in 2000.
The center also reports that children under the age of 5 are more likely to be poisoned and that the most common causes of poisonings in children are medications, personal care products and household chemicals.
For questions regarding possible poisonings, call 1-800-222-1222.
