Ekurhuleni City wants parents and guardians to be careful with dangerous chemicals found in homes, like bug sprays and weed killers. This warning comes after the Gauteng Health Department noticed a worrying increase in cases of food poisoning.
Most times, when kids get food poisoning, it’s because they somehow touched or ate something with these chemicals on it.
“Pesticides and herbicides are some of the dangerous things usually found at home. Sadly, sometimes kids get poisoned because these items aren’t stored properly,” says Zweli Dlamini, who speaks for the city.
The city’s experts on environmental health teach people how to handle and store chemicals safely. They suggest:
- Keep pesticides in their original containers, which have instructions, ingredients, and steps to take if someone is poisoned accidentally.
- Use child-proof packaging correctly. Close it tightly and put it where kids can’t get it.
- Don’t use empty pesticide containers again.
- Never pour pesticides down sinks, toilets, or drains.
If you think someone’s been poisoned, call the 24-hour Poison Help line at 0861 555 777 right away. They’ll connect you with a poison expert who can help.
