Poison

The leading cause of injury death in Tennessee is not motor vehicle crashes, gunshot wounds or drowning—it is poisoning. And the main source of that poisoning is not the furniture polish or drain cleaner stored under the kitchen sink (dangerous… Read More

(iStockphoto) Holiday lights and decorations are a special part of the season but also bring an increased potential for injury, especially to young children. During November and December 2014, holiday decorations or decorating safety mishaps accounted for 12 fatalities and an estimated 14,500 injuries nationwide, according to… Read More

(iStockphoto) Powdered alcohol, marketed under the name Palcohol, was recently approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for sale in the United States. It is a powder that is packaged in a 4-by-6-inch pouch, to which water can be added to produce an instant… Read More

Families with young children, and those who might have an occasional young visitor, should take special care during the holiday season to make sure that decorations and other signs of the season don’t pose a risk to children. One of the most important poison prevention… Read More

Last month representatives of more than 140 countries agreed to the terms of a treaty called the Minamata Convention that would ban many uses of mercury by 2020. But the efforts do not go far enough, says Vanderbilt pharmacologist Michael Aschner. Read More