Poison Prevention for Seniors

Safety is always in style

Once we leave childhood, we think poison prevention is no longer needed. But if that’s what you think, you would be wrong.

I worked in the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre for over 25 years as a Certified Specialist in Poison Information. Many calls come from the hospital emergency rooms or ICUs from around the province and need a lot of expertise. The public calls were mostly regarding either children or unintentional drug overdoses during the day and intentional overdoses of drugs and alcohol in the evening or night. Seniors, however, did result in quite a few calls to the poison center.

Many seniors do not want to call the center as they are embarrassed that they have made a mistake. Sometimes, they worry they might be developing dementia.

The fact is that we all make mistakes. I would like to inform you of ways to prevent exposure to poisons.

Poison prevention

Talk with your pharmacist and ask how to take each of your pills and pack everything pillow. Ask if as a senior they will waive a fee.

Keep all your medications in the bathroom so you will need to get up at night to get to them. Hopefully, you will not just lean over and take what you think is there in the middle of the night.

Do not keep your medications with anyone else’s pills. It’s too easy to mix them up. One lady called in and said she had put her dog’s medication on the counter beside her medication and accidentally swallowed the dog’s pills without thinking.

When you have to take pain medication, keep a pen and paper near the pills, and write down what time it was when you last took these pills. These medications can make you both drowsy and confused so it is essential to know when you last took it.

Many elderly people grew up when times were tough and you didn’t throw much out. Eating food that’s been in the fridge too long, especially rice (think listeria) or undercooked chicken or seafood, can cause food poisoning. The elderly are quite vulnerable. You can see different symptoms and some can be quite deadly. Our motto was “If in doubt, throw it out.” It’s better to call in and check rather than take a chance.

There have been a lot of mushroom poisonings in the last few years. People think they grew up picking mushrooms and know the areas they feel are safe. The fact is that a lot of new mushroom spores have come into the country. These spores can lay dormant for quite a few years. Many mushrooms have come into our country and look very similar to the ones we may have grown up with.

I worked with a woman who was the president of the Mycology Society of Vancouver, and she said that when they got a different-looking mushroom to identify, the experts frequently couldn’t agree on which mushroom it might be. I certainly wouldn’t want to try to decide if it’s poisonous or not.

Do not keep old medications or share them, and always finish up your medication as prescribed. 

Do not throw out your medication in the garbage or the toilet. Return it to your pharmacist as they will discard it in an environmentally friendly manner.

Most provinces have a poison center to call 24/7. The phone number for BC is 1-800-567-8911. Canada has recently developed a Canada-wide number to call. They can direct your call to the nearest Poison Centre. That number is 1-POISON-X

In the United States, there is a central number, and depending on where you live, they will transfer your call to the nearest poison center—their number is 1-800-222-1222.

Every year, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from individual centers gather to discuss and share new information. The conferences are all over the US and Canada.

This expertise is available to you. You never know when you might need it. Put it on your cell phone and your fridge. It’s there for you.

Never hesitate to call for any reason. I was always happy to say, “This won’t be a problem. You’ll be fine.”  Calling may help you stay healthy, and that is a good thing.