Warm weather means more people are mowing their lawn and doing yardwork and grilling food.

While these activities seem innocuous, it’s important for parents to remember that gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, and certain other household cleaning products present a high risk for injury or death when children mistake these hydrocarbons for food or drink and ingest the chemical.

In a study in the June 2013 Pediatrics, “Pediatric Hydrocarbon-Related Injuries in the United States: 2000-2009,” researchers studied data from the National Poison Data System and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System over a ten-year period and found that 66,000 calls were made to regional poison centers, resulting in more than 40,000 emergency department (ED) visits for hydrocarbon-related injuries in children under 5 years of age.

Most injuries occur during warm weather months, with 31 percent of exposures being reported during warm months, versus 17 percent to 19 percent reported in the winter months. Most ED visits and calls to poison centers involved boys aged 1 to 2 years swallowing or breathing in gasoline, but most injuries did not require hospitalization. Continue reading →