A smiling family poses for a photo when packing their car for a road trip.Planning a family vacation or welcoming guests into your home? A change in routine can be exciting, but it can also increase the risk of accidental poison exposure. Poison risks can happen anywhere, especially when traveling with children. Planning ahead can help keep your family safe.

Before you travel, pack medicines and personal care products in their original containers, keep them out of reach of children, and save the Poison Help number in your phone: 1-800-222-1222. The Iowa Poison Control Center is here to help with simple, practical family vacation safety tips.

Before You Go: Pack With Poison Safety in Mind

Good travel safety starts before you leave home. As you pack, take a few extra minutes to think about medication safety, child safety, and how to safely store potentially harmful items. 

Keep these items in their original, child-resistant containers whenever possible:

  • Medications
  • Vitamins and supplements
  • Sunscreen
  • Insect repellent
  • Cosmetics
  • Mouthwash
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Cleaning products
  • Personal care products

Avoid packing loose pills in plastic bags, snack bags, or unlabeled containers. Pills can look like candy to children, and unlabeled medication can be hard to identify in an emergency. Original containers also include important dosing instructions and ingredients that may be needed if you call poison control.

On Arrival: Do a Safety Check

Whether you are staying at a hotel, rental home, campground, or a friend’s house, take a few minutes to do a safety check before children begin exploring.

Look for items that could be harmful if swallowed, touched, or spilled, including:

  • Medications
  • Cleaning products
  • Laundry pods or dishwasher pods
  • Alcohol, nicotine products, or cannabis products
  • Button batteries
  • Personal care products
  • Insect sprays, sunscreen, and repellents
  • Grill supplies, lighter fluid, or fuel
  • Small items that could be swallowed

Food Safety While Traveling

Food poisoning and prevention should be part of every travel safety plan. Food can spoil quickly in cars, coolers, and picnic areas.

To reduce the risk of food poisoning:

  • Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.
  • Do not leave food at room temperature for more than two hours.
  • If it is hotter than 90°F, do not leave food out for more than one hour.
  • Wash hands before preparing or eating food.
  • Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from ready-to-eat foods.
  • Use a clean plate for cooked food
  • Use safe drinking water, especially when traveling internationally.

Food safety while traveling is especially important for young children, older adults, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system.

Outdoor Vacation Safety

Outdoor trips and visits to parks can introduce new risks of poisoning. Poisonous wild plants, berries, and mushrooms may look harmless, but some can cause serious illness.

To help prevent wild mushroom poisoning and plant-related poison exposures:

  • Do not eat wild mushrooms, berries, leaves, or plants.
  • Teach children to “look, not touch” when exploring outdoors.
  • Do not assume something is safe because it is natural.
  • Keep children away from unknown plants around campgrounds, trails, parks, and vacation rentals.
  • Watch for bites and stings, especially in wooded or grassy areas.

If someone eats a wild plant or mushroom, do not wait for symptoms. Call poison control right away.

Vacation Safety Tips for Your Home

Poison prevention is also important when you welcome visitors. A few family safety tips for your home can protect children, pets, and guests.

Before guests arrive:

  • Store medications in a locked cabinet or other secure location.
  • Move cleaning products out of reach.
  • Keep laundry and dishwasher pods away from children.
  • Store alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis products securely.
  • Keep button batteries and small electronics out of reach.
  • Ask guests to store purses, bags, and suitcases safely.

Poison Help Is Available 24/7

If a poisoning happens, or if you are unsure whether something is dangerous, call the Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222.

The Iowa Poison Control Center provides free, confidential, expert guidance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. For poison help, vacation tips, and trusted guidance anytime, call the Iowa Poison Control Center.