Epidemiology
Poison centers in the US received more than 2 million human exposure calls in 2021.[1][2] Over 40% of these were related to children ages ≤5 years. Children ages <20 years accounted for about 56% of reported exposures and just over 7.5% of reported fatalities.[2]
The five most commonly reported toxic exposures in children ages <5 years were cosmetics/personal care products, household cleaning substances, analgesics, dietary substances/herbals/homeopathics, and foreign bodies/toys/miscellaneous.[2] In contrast, when looking at all age groups, the five most commonly reported exposures in 2021 to US poison centers were analgesics, household cleaning substances, cosmetics/personal care products, antidepressants, and sedatives/hypnotics/antipsychotics.[1]
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