Childhood poisoning in Australia

Raymond Cripps
Danielle Steel

October 2006
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Canberra
AIHW cat. no. INJCAT 90

Poisoning, or concern over the possibility of poisoning, is a common reason for admitting young children to hospital in Australia. Most of the episodes are brief, with children being discharged home. This is a condition of toddlers when most babies become mobile, peaking in the second year of life for cases involving non-pharmaceutical substances, and the following year for those involving pharmaceuticals. While the great majority of these cases come to nothing or resolve quickly and completely, a few are more serious: 35 children remained in hospital for more than a week, and five died in hospital. Child-resistant packaging is an important risk reduction technique for this type of injury.

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