MANILA, Philippines?The news of the accidental death of 3-year-old twins Christopher and Christian Orbigoso, both of Barangay Malanday, Marikina City, has caught public attention. This led the public to be concerned about the hazards of unintentional poisoning from common household products or for that matter, any toxic stuff lying unsecured around the house.

We should remember that curiosity is a natural stage of a child?s development that puts him or her at greater risk of unintentional poisoning.

And parents should never assume that a cabinet is too high for a curious, climbing toddler.

Greater risk

Children are at considerably greater risk of poisoning since they are smaller, have faster metabolic rates and their bodies are less capable of handling toxic chemicals.

The jewelry cleaner that killed the twins, for example, could have contained cyanide, a highly toxic poison even in small amounts.

Even the other type of jewelry cleaner, which contains detergent soap, corrosive alkali and ammonia, is also poisonous causing severe burns to the inside of the gastrointestinal tract, throat swelling (that may also cause breathing difficulty), low blood pressure as well as severe change in pH (too much or too little acid in the blood, which leads to damage in all of the body organs.

Bleach, kerosine, insecticides and even dishwashing liquids could bring similar results when ingested.

Even medicines

Aside from these household items, parents should also secure their healthcare products like concentrated mouthwash as these items account for a huge percentage of those young children poisoned.

Parents are also advised to read labels (or use the dispenser that comes packaged with children?s medications) or much better, follow the directions of their child?s doctor to avoid overdose.

In this regard, parents should install child-safety locks on cabinets that house these medicines and cosmetics, including cleaning supplies, chemicals and other poisons.

Remember: never leave potentially poisonous household products unattended while in use?like cleaning acids?as it takes only seconds for poisoning to occur.

Cleaning solutions

Moreover, avoid keeping cleaning solutions that are mixed using different products designed for other uses. These new mixtures may be harmful to children and may not be stored in properly labeled or child-resistant containers (like the mineral water bottle that contained the cleaning agent that the twins ingested).

Since most chemical or drug packaging includes useful first-aid information in the event of accidental exposure ingestion, parents are advised to keep them in case of emergency.

Keeping the number of your nearest health center or hospital could one day prove useful.

Lastly, parents should also teach their young children to identify hazardous items. Otherwise, parents should never ever leave their children unattended or at least, have someone to look after them in case they need to go out of the house.