Health Care and Poison Control
As Summer starts, one key element of health care during these months is poison control. In 2013, America’s 55 poison centers received over 3.1 million calls, and about 2.2 million of those were for poison exposures including carbon monoxide, food poisoning, snake bites, and many more. The remainder of those calls consisted of people asking general information about poison, according to the AAPCC. The American Association of Poison Control Centers supports the nation’s 55 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures. These locations offer free and confidential medical advice 24/7 through the toll free poison help line at 800-222-1222. This service provides a primary source for information about poisoning and helps reduce costly emergency room visits through in-home treatment in non-emergency situations. According to the Texas Poison Center Network, in years past, if your child swallowed some type of poison, you wouldn't think twice about using Ipecac to i