Thousands of calls being made to poison information centres

New data shows the large number of calls being made to poisons hotlines in NSW and Victoria. See the list of the most common reasons.

Children under five are swallowing dishwashing detergents, hand sanitisers and other harmful chemicals as alarming data shows thousands of calls being made to the state’s poisons hotline.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal 14,660 calls were made to Austin Health’s Victorian Poisons Information Centre (VPIC) by parents, caregivers and health professionals to manage accidental exposures last year.

This is an increase of almost 400 calls compared to the previous year.

The latest data showed paracetamol topped the list with more than 1000 calls, followed closely by ibuprofen with just over 700 calls.

Parents are being warneed to keep medicines out of the reach of children. Picture: iStock

There were almost 450 calls relating to topical antiseptics and hand sanitisers, 350 calls relating to dishwasher tablets and more than 300 calls relating to toys.

VPIC pharmacy manager Madeline Heiner said errors occurred when one caregiver did not realise that the other had already administered a dose of paracetamol or ibuprofen, resulting in accidentally doubling the dose given to a child.

“Paracetamol and ibuprofen are the most commonly used medicines for managing pain and fever in young children,” Ms Heiner said.

“However, it’s easy for busy or tired parents to make medication errors.”

VPIC medical director Dr Shaun Greene said the centre dealt with many cases where children, especially younger ones, were tempted to taste or nibble at products like antiseptic creams. “While a lick of the hand or a nibble is unlikely to pose a risk, but depending on the product, larger ingestions may be cause for concern,” Dr Greene said.

Paracetamol accounted for the highest number of calls to poisons hotlines in Victoria. Picture: iStock

Ms Heiner said the poisons hotline received at least one call a day about potential toy-related exposure, with the “risk of choking hazard a frequent concern when beads and toy parts expand after they are ingested”.

“We also receive calls about batteries, magnets and other small toy parts,” she said.

VPIC has also noticed several trends over the years in poisonings including an increase in calls about possible mushroom ingestions during the cooler months.

Ms Heiner said: “When you call VPIC, we’ll ask for the details of the product involved, including the packaging, as well as the child’s age, weight, and any symptoms they may be

experiencing.”

“In most case accidental exposures can be watched at home,” she said.

“Depending on the situation, we may advise you to contact the ambulance or refer you to the GP or hospital.”

Meanwhile, the latest data from NSW Poisons Information Centre revealed almost 55,000 calls were made to the hotline in the past two years alone involving paracetamol, ibuprofen and other chemicals.

Concerningly, there were 795 calls to the NSW poisons hotline relating to children under five being exposed to automatic dishwasher detergents in 2024 – an increase of 30 reports compared to the previous year.

Originally published as Thousands of calls being made to poison information centres