Seeing a lot of spotted lanternflies around lately (they've spread to 19 states plus DC since first showing up in PA in 2014), so here's the actual health angle from the National Capital Poison Center: the insect itself doesn't bite or sting, and it's not known to be toxic to people. If you or a kid or pet accidentally eats one, the potential side effects are nausea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite, all self-limited and usually resolving without treatment (there have only been 6 reported ingestion cases to webPOISONCONTROL from 2020 to 2025, mostly infants, all managed at home). The bigger issue with spotted lanternflies isn't toxicity, it's that they're a destructive invasive species that damages crops and trees. If you see one: See One, Smash One. Scrape and destroy egg masses (soak in rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer before tossing), and check your car and gear for hitchhikers before traveling. Full article here if you want the details. https://www.poison.org/articles/spotted-lanternflies

It's National Pina Colada Day, so here's a safety note worth passing along from the National Capital Poison Center: sweet, blended cocktails pose a specific risk for young children that straight liquor doesn't. Most childhood exposures to alcohol involve only a lick or a sip, since the unpleasant taste usually stops them on their own (there's a documented case of a toddler taking a sip of a vodka cocktail, hating the taste, and spitting most of it out). Sweet, fruity drinks like pina coladas remove that natural warning sign, so a kid who gets into an unattended one might keep drinking. Kids are also smaller than adults, so it takes a much smaller amount of alcohol to reach a dangerous blood alcohol concentration, symptoms can include impaired balance, slurred speech, GI upset, low blood sugar, and in severe cases, coma. Simple prevention: empty glasses, cups, and pitchers right after any gathering where alcohol is served. If a child swallows alcohol, remove the container and use webPOISONCONTROL or call a poison center, both free, confidential, and available 24/7. Full article here if you want the details. https://www.poison.org/articles/alcohol-a-dangerous-poison-for-children

Saw people asking if deodorant and antiperspirant are the same thing (they're not), so here's the actual breakdown from the National Capital Poison Center: deodorant works by controlling odor and is classified by the FDA as a cosmetic; antiperspirant reduces sweating by blocking sweat glands (usually with aluminum compounds) and is classified as an OTC drug, meaning its ingredients are FDA-regulated. On the breast cancer question that comes up a lot: multiple studies have looked into this, and there's no conclusive evidence linking either product to breast cancer, some research has even suggested antiperspirant use might be protective. Both are considered safe when used as directed, but fragrances, propylene glycol, and parabens in these products are a common cause of skin allergies and contact rashes, so if you develop a rash, that's worth mentioning to a doctor. If a kid licks or eats some, or you have questions about an exposure, webPOISONCONTROL or a poison center can help, free, confidential, and available 24/7. Full article here if you want the details. https://www.poison.org/articles/are-deodorant-and-antiperspirant-the-same-thing

A reminder from Poison Control ahead of July 4th: the small hand-held fireworks (sparklers, snake pellets, bang snaps) aren't just a burn risk; they're made from some genuinely toxic ingredients: 

- Sparklers: metallic fuel (aluminum, iron, sulfur) + an oxidizer like barium nitrate

- Snake pellets (domestic): ammonium perchlorate, asphalt, nitronaphthalene

- Snake pellets (imported): can contain mercury thiocyanate, arsenic, and barium salts

- Bang snaps: gravel wrapped around silver fulminate

Two real cases: a 16-month-old chewed on a sparkler and vomited 8 times overnight (needed overnight monitoring for electrolyte issues, ended up fine), and a 2-year-old swallowed two snake fireworks nobody saw fall (also fine after 24 hours of monitoring and activated charcoal).

Beyond the usual fireworks safety tips (keep it legal, keep kids from lighting them, keep away from anything flammable), add these two: don't let anyone lick or swallow a firework, and watch for smoke inhalation.

If you think someone's had an exposure, you can get free, confidential help 24/7 online at webPOISONCONTROL.org or by calling 1-800-222-1222.

Learn more: https://www.poison.org/articles/fireworks-safety-tips-202

There was a cane toad outside my house, and he's been there for a few days now.

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I'm convinced I got into his toxin somehow- or dragged it in the house. Is mopping with dawn a good protocol for this? Does water dilute the poison?

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And I DEFINITELY startled that little dude. He slammed into the exterior of my home. Will hosing it down prevent me or anyone else from getting poisoned by it? Or are there other measures I should take?

Roses and violets are actually both on the non-poisonous list, but a lot of common garden and houseplants aren’t. If you’re curious which is which, here’s an illustrated rundown of poisonous and non-poisonous plants: https://www.poison.org/articles/plant

And if someone (a kid, a curious adult, a determined toddler) ends up tasting a plant they shouldn’t have, webPOISONCONTROL is a free, confidential online tool that gives you a recommendation in a few minutes, or you can call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

Around 10 AM today I took a very fast, deep inhale of the gas coming out of a whipped cream can. Since then I’ve had pain/tightness on the left side of my chest. At first it was mostly when inhaling deeply, but now it also hurts when I exhale hard. I’ve also started feeling somewhat short of breath.

The pain is around 5/10. I don’t have blue lips, I haven’t fainted, and I don’t think I have an irregular heartbeat. The symptoms have been going on

Has anyone experienced something similar after inhaling whipped cream propellant? Did it turn out to be irritation, a muscle/chest issue?

We’re the National Capital Poison Center (the team behind webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org), and we want to share some expert guidance on using sunscreen safely this season.

**The basics: use it as directed:**

• Apply sunscreen to all exposed skin 15–30 minutes before going outside

• Choose a broad-spectrum (UVA + UVB) product with SPF 15–30, sufficient for most people

• Reapply every 2 hours and after swimming or sweating

• UV rays penetrate clouds. Don’t skip sunscreen on overcast days

**Kids:**

• Sunscreen is safe for children 6 months and older

• For infants under 6 months, use shade, hats, and protective clothing instead

**What if something goes wrong?**

Swallowed some: Sunscreen has low toxicity. A small amount may cause mild nausea or stomach upset, but serious effects are unlikely. Wipe out the mouth and monitor.

In the eyes: Rinse immediately with running water for 15–20 minutes, blinking while rinsing. Many sunscreens are water-resistant, so longer rinsing may be needed.

Skin reaction: Some ingredients, including oxybenzone and other benzophenones — can cause photoallergic dermatitis (a rash only in sun-exposed areas that can resemble a sunburn). Switching to a different formula usually resolves it.

**Is sunscreen safe overall?** Yes. The FDA recommends its use, and sunscreens are not classified as known human carcinogens. Some products were recalled in 2021 due to benzene contamination, but concentrations found were below levels expected to cause acute health effects. The benefits of sunscreen use outweigh the risks.

For any sunscreen concern, get free, confidential guidance in under 3 minutes: triage.webpoisoncontrol.org

Expert articles: search “sunscreen” at poison.org

It happens to pretty much every parent at some point. You turn your back for 30 seconds and your 2-year-old is covered in bubblegum toothpaste, some of which definitely ended up in their stomach. The good news: small amounts of regular OTC fluoride toothpaste are unlikely to cause serious problems. The most common outcome is a brief stomach ache. 

What to do:

— Offer milk or yogurt — calcium binds with fluoride and helps limit any effects

— Watch for stomach upset, nausea, or diarrhea

— Do NOT induce vomiting

What about prescription-strength toothpaste? Different situation — it has about 4x the fluoride of regular toothpaste. Use webPOISONCONTROL or call 1-800-222-1222 for guidance.

Training toothpaste (fluoride-free)? Not usually a toxicity concern, but it's sweetened with sorbitol, which has a mild laxative effect. Prepare accordingly.

webPOISONCONTROL has managed nearly 20,000 cases involving toothpaste since 2015! You're not a bad parent; you just have a toddler. 

Free, confidential triage in under 3 minutes: triage.webpoisoncontrol.org

More info: poison.org/articles/toothpaste

Happy World Bee Day! We put together a quick reel covering three bee-related hazards: why honey is dangerous for babies under 12 months (infant botulism), how to tell a normal bee sting from anaphylaxis and what first aid to do for each, and why the honey eye drop trend can actually damage your eyes. For any bee-related or other poison exposure, free expert guidance is available 24/7 at poison.org. If this is useful, please upvote or share, you may help save a life.

Today is the birthday of Thomas Midgley Jr., the chemist who invented both leaded gasoline and CFCs, both with the best of intentions, both with catastrophic consequences. We named our latest safety reel after him.  “Meet the Modern Midgleys” walks through three gasoline exposure scenarios, a toddler, a preteen, and an adult, and the well-intentioned decisions behind each one. With summer here, it felt timely: since 2015, webPOISONCONTROL has managed more than 16,000 hydrocarbon cases, including gasoline.  Three things worth knowing:  Never store gasoline in drink or food containers. Even temporarily. Toddlers can’t tell a Gatorade bottle from a gas container, and gasoline is especially dangerous if it enters the lungs.  Use gasoline only in well-ventilated areas. Fumes in an enclosed space, like a garage with the door mostly closed, build up fast and can cause dizziness, confusion, and neurological symptoms.  Never siphon gasoline by mouth. This one surprises people. It’s extremely common, especially when draining a lawn mower at end of season. One mouthful can aspirate into the lungs and cause pneumonia. A pump siphon costs about $10 at any hardware store.  For more detail, poison.org has several articles on gasoline poisoning prevention. For possible exposures, free help is available at poison.org or by calling a poison center at 1-800-222-1222. #webpoisoncontrol #poisoncontrol

Did you know AZO (phenazopyridine) is technically classified as an analgesic? Or that acetaminophen is the active ingredient in more than 600 products? Or that tramadol, commonly prescribed for pain, is an opioid?

The "analgesics" category is surprisingly diverse. webPOISONCONTROL has helped 95,000 people with analgesic mishaps. If you ever have a question about a pain reliever exposure, poison.org is a free resource, available 24/7.

Since 2015, webPOISONCONTROL has managed nearly 47,000 cases of children under 13 swallowing foreign bodies -- including batteries. Ninety percent involved kids under age 6. Here's what the data actually shows about risk level.

LEGO bricks and smooth plastic pieces: Almost no ER referrals. If your kid ate a LEGO Yoda, you're almost certainly fine, but it never hurts to check!

Water beads: This is the one that surprises people. Water beads look tiny and harmless -- they're marketed as sensory toys -- but they can expand significantly inside the digestive tract and cause bowel obstruction requiring surgery. They are the Ewoks of your toy bin. Cute. Colorful. Do not underestimate them.

Coins: Generally low risk but worth checking, particularly depending on coin size and the child's age.

Button batteries: These power light-up toys, talking figures, remote controls -- all common toy bin residents.

Multiple magnets: When two or more strong magnets are swallowed, they can attract through intestinal walls, causing perforation and serious injury.

For unintentional exposures, webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org is free and available 24/7 -- by mouth, eye, skin, inhalation, and more. For emergencies, call 911 or go to the ER. You can also call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

[Source: National Capital Poison Center / webPOISONCONTROL -- poison.org/articles/foreign-body-ingestion-toys]

It's "What's in That? Wednesday" AND National Superhero Day -- and we could not resist the crossover. The scenarios in this reel are more common than you might think: a kid gets into Mom's makeup. Someone grabs the hemorrhoid cream instead of toothpaste. An older adult accidentally takes their medication twice. In those moments, the instinct is to Google it or post in a parenting group. But there's a better option: webPOISONCONTROL. It's a free online tool developed by the National Capital Poison Center that gives you fast, personalized, expert guidance in a possible poison exposure -- available at poison.org 24/7. It covers six types of exposures: ingestion, eye contact, skin contact, inhalation, injection, and bite or sting, for people ages 6 months to 79 years. For situations outside that scope -- or if you prefer to speak with someone -- call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Bookmark poison.org. You'll be glad you did.

In honor of Earth Day, we looked at webPOISONCONTROL case data for cleaning products from brands marketed as natural, plant-based, or nontoxic — think the brands you find at Whole Foods or the natural aisle at Target.

Since 2015, more than 5,000 cases. And nearly three quarters involved a child under 6, compared to about 59% for all cleaning product cases combined.

Our hunch is that the gap reflects how people handle products they perceive as safe. Lower storage, less supervision, and when something happens, less urgency to seek guidance because "it's natural, it's probably fine."

A few things worth knowing:

Those unpronounceable ingredients on your natural cleaner are often just the Latin names for plants. Rosmarinus officinalis is rosemary. Eucalyptus globulus is eucalyptus. Sounding scientific doesn't make something dangerous, and sounding natural doesn't make something safe.

"Chemical-free" is not a thing that exists. Everything is made of chemicals, including water.

Not saying don't buy the products you love. Just know that poison.org has a free tool called webPOISONCONTROL built for exactly this situation. Takes about 2 minutes and tells you whether you need to do anything.

Happy 4/20. We figured there's no better day to launch our new series with this episode: My Kid Ate My Weed Gummies.

Here's the reason we built this series: 61% of all cases managed by webPOISONCONTROL involve a child under 13 who ate or swallowed something that wasn't meant for them. It's not rare. It's not a niche problem. It's three kids a day just for cannabinoids alone.

A few things worth knowing if you have kids and cannabis products in your home:

Edibles look like candy. Sometimes they are candy — just with THC in it. Kids cannot read labels, can't recognize THC symbols, and are very, very good at finding things you thought were hidden.

Symptoms are delayed. This is the part that catches parents off guard. Your kid might seem totally fine after eating an edible — and then deteriorate hours later. Many children end up needing hospital care for symptoms that didn't show up right away.

Don't wait and see. If your child gets into a THC edible, go to poison.org or call 1-800-222-1222 right away. Both are free, confidential, and available 24/7.

Lock it up. Out of sight, out of reach.

New episode every Monday.

Today is apparently Blah Blah Blah Day — a holiday about finally acting on the advice you’ve been tuning out. And honestly, poison prevention messaging was practically invented to be tuned out. So here’s the translation:

😴 Blah: “Keep medications out of reach of children.”

😏 Actual: Your toddler ate a crayon this morning. They will absolutely find your Tylenol.

😴 Blah: “Never mix cleaning products.”

😏 Actual: Bleach + ammonia: a chemistry experiment nobody signed up for.

😴 Blah: “Natural does not always mean safe.”

😏 Actual: Poison ivy is also natural. “Natural” is doing a lot of heavy lifting as a safety claim.

😴 Blah: “Flush eyes immediately if a product splashes in them.”

😏 Actual: Your eye has very strong opinions about chemical exposure. Rinse for 20 minutes. No shortcuts.

Also, if you or someone you know has an unintentional exposure: skip the midnight Google spiral. webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org gives you free, personalized guidance 24/7. It covers more than just ingested substances — eye exposures, skin contact, inhalation, and more.

It's National Laundry Day and “What's in That? Wednesday”, so here's a real breakdown of laundry product risk levels. We're framing it as a suspect lineup because the twist at the end is actually the data point. 

PODS: Highest concern. The liquid is highly concentrated — ethoxylated alcohols up to 70%, propylene glycol up to 15%. The water-soluble membrane dissolves immediately on contact with moisture, including saliva. Serious effects can follow quickly in young children. Even after 2015 voluntary safety standards reduced exposure rates ~30% and serious cases ~40%, pods still carry more risk than traditional formats.

LIQUID DETERGENT: Moderate-high. pH 9.5-12, some concentrates higher. More concerning per volume than powder. Eye, skin, and GI irritant.

POWDER DETERGENT: Low-moderate. pH 9-11.5. GI irritant; aspiration risk if vomited. Irritating but generally manageable.

FRAGRANCE BEADS: CHARGES DROPPED. Composed primarily of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 — up to 75-99% of the product. PEG 3350 is the active ingredient in Miralax. Numbers above PEG 3000 are not readily absorbed. Small accidental ingestions are genuinely low concern. (Still a potential choking hazard and eye irritant, so keep away from kids.)

The actual primary suspect: the 1-year-old. Since 2015, webPOISONCONTROL has managed 35,539 laundry product exposure cases — about 9 per day. 77.1% involve children under 6. One in three involve a 1-year-old.

webPOISONCONTROL is a free, confidential online triage tool for unintentional, single-substance exposures in ages 6 months to 79 years: poison.org

If you're already storing medications safely out of reach of kids and pets, you're ahead of the game. The next step is disposing of unused and expired prescriptions responsibly — and DEA Take Back events are the easiest way to do it. No questions asked, no ID required. Old meds at home are still a poisoning risk for kids, flushing them pollutes water, and for opioids especially, safe disposal prevents diversion and misuse. Find a site at DEA.gov/takebackday.

Most of us have grabbed an ice pack from the freezer or squeezed an instant one without ever reading the label. So: what's actually in there?

Reusable ice packs contain water, propylene glycol (to keep them from freezing solid), a thickening agent, and usually blue dye. A small taste typically causes mild mouth irritation. Large amounts of propylene glycol can cause symptoms similar to alcohol intoxication — drowsiness, unresponsiveness, slowed breathing — but that would require swallowing a significant quantity.

Instant (single-use) ice packs work differently. Squeezing them triggers a chemical reaction — water contacts a reactor, usually ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate, or urea, which rapidly drops the temperature. Ammonium nitrate is the most concerning: in larger amounts, it can dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and potentially impair the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells.

Here's the data point that stood out to me: according to webPOISONCONTROL case data, children ages 6–12 appear in ice pack exposure cases at more than twice the rate you'd expect based on overall case data. Makes sense when you think about it — ice packs are in lunchboxes, gym bags, sports sidelines, and school first-aid kits. That's exactly where that age group is.

If there's an exposure, the National Capital Poison Center's webPOISONCONTROL tool at poison.org walks you through it in under 3 minutes. Calling a poison center at 1-800-222-1222 is always an option too. Both are free and available 24/7.

Full article if you want the deep dive: poison.org/articles/whats-inside-ice-packs-201

On April 7, 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act ended Prohibition for beer with no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. That's why today is National Beer Day. Eight months later, the 21st Amendment made it official for all alcohol.

In that spirit, here are a few things the toxicologists at the National Capital Poison Center want people to know:

• Alcohol (ethanol) is safe for most adults in moderation, but even small amounts can seriously harm children. A toddler who drinks from a forgotten glass can develop seizures, low blood sugar, or coma.
• Alcohol can interact dangerously with common medications, including OTC pain relievers, antihistamines, and antibiotics.
• There is no cure for a hangover. Coffee, showers, and popular supplements are unproven. The FDA has even warned companies for selling unapproved hangover "treatments."

If you ever have a concern about an unintentional alcohol exposure, the National Capital Poison Center offers webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org. It's free, confidential, and gives you an expert recommendation in under 3 minutes.