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" You know it&amp;#039;s a topsy-turvy world, and you want your home to be a haven. But if you listen to the emergency room docs, as we did, you&amp;#039;ll realize that some common household items \u2014 from vitamins on your kitchen counter to Fido&amp;#039;s flea collar \u2014 can actually put your children at serious risk for illness and injury. Here REDBOOK examines easily overlooked kid hazards in your home.   1. Iron Burns Burns from irons occur frequently among young kids; shockingly, a recent study found that 74 percent of these injuries occurred among children who were supervised. All it takes is a split-second grab, and your child can end up with a blistering burn. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s usually the hands that get burned, because kids touch the irons,&amp;quot; says Michael Carius, M.D., chairman of the emergency department at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. &amp;quot;And kids often don&amp;#039;t let go when something is hot, so they end up with second-degree burns, which blister. These warrant medical attention; they are potentially a source of infection, which can lead to scarring and loss of function.&amp;quot;   The Best Rx: &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ve got to keep irons out of the reach of kids,&amp;quot; Carius says. That means you need to unplug your iron as soon as you&amp;#039;re finished ironing and leave it to cool in a high place that youngsters can&amp;#039;t reach. Keep those cords coiled up high, too, as many injuries occur when kids pull on them. If you have a toddler, be especially vigilant: The average age of children burned by irons is 17 months.   2. Adult Iron Supplements &amp;quot;Iron in adult supplements is a top cause of unintentional-poisoning deaths from medication in kids,&amp;quot; says Kyran Quinlan, M.D., a clinical associate at the University of Chicago Children&amp;#039;s Hospital.  The reason iron is so harmful: After a child swallows the supplement, it stays in the stomach, where it can eat away at the stomach lining. It is then absorbed slowly into the bloodstream and can reach toxic levels, explains Carius. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s quite difficult, because these kids can look very sick initially, then start to look better, then die suddenly as a result of the poisoning,&amp;quot; Quinlan says.   The Best Rx: &amp;quot;Child-resistant packaging doesn&amp;#039;t mean childproof,&amp;quot; Quinlan says. &amp;quot;Some young kids can get into it, by accident or because they&amp;#039;re manipulative geniuses.&amp;quot; So keep these supplements out of kids&amp;#039; reach, preferably behind a locked cabinet door. 3. Wooden Swing Sets and Decks Most parents think it&amp;#039;s a good thing to have their kids playing on the backyard swing set or doing homework on the deck in springtime. But children who play on outdoor wooden play sets, decks, or picnic tables are at high risk for exposure to the cancer-causing agent arsenic, which is used in pressure-treated outdoor wood products, suggests a recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the University of North Carolina-Asheville&amp;#039;s Environmental Quality Institute. This research found that contrary to previous belief, the amount of arsenic in these structures does not dissipate with time. &amp;quot;The arsenic naturally leaches out and makes it onto a child&amp;#039;s fingertips in the course of normal play,&amp;quot; says Michael Shannon, M.D., acting chief of emergency services and director of the Pediatric Environmental Health Center at Children&amp;#039;s Hospital Boston. &amp;quot;Arsenic is a very nasty poison that can harm virtually every organ in the body and is carcinogenic.&amp;quot; Though manufacturing companies have agreed to phase out the arsenic-based chemical mixture that&amp;#039;s used in making these wood products, structures that are already in place are allowed to remain.   The Best Rx: Unless you have a brand-new wooden deck or play set, assume that arsenic is present, Shannon says. The only permanent solution is to replace arsenic-treated wood with safer alternatives, such as cedar and recycled plastic composite, according to the EWG. If that expensive option isn&amp;#039;t possible, every six months apply a wood or deck sealant (available at hardware stores) that&amp;#039;s designed to penetrate decks; it&amp;#039;ll create a physical barrier between a child&amp;#039;s hands and the arsenic in the wood. Also make sure that you and your children wash your hands thoroughly after touching the wood.  4. Flea Collars We all know that pesticides are a risk to kids, particularly to their developing nervous systems. Because of that, researchers are now turning their attention to the potential risks that are associated with the flea collar on your dog or cat. If a young child touches it, the insecticide can be absorbed through his skin or ingested when he places his hands in his mouth, Shannon says. This can cause neurological effects ranging from lethargy to nausea and vomiting. Loss of motor coordination or loss of cognitive function can occur when kids endure severe exposure.  The Best Rx: You may want to think twice about using flea collars; instead, shampoo your pet more frequently, says Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Children&amp;#039;s Health and the Environment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. In any case, urge your children to wash their hands often \u2014 especially after playing with a pet and before eating.   5. TVs That Tip Over It may sound like a freak occurrence, but it happens more often than you think, say the ER docs. The majority of injuries occur in kids aged 1 to 3, and most involve head injuries; a smaller number suffer fractures of the arms and legs. The problem, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is that household televisions usually aren&amp;#039;t anchored to furniture or to the wall, so they&amp;#039;re susceptible to tipping over if a child climbs up furniture and grabs them. &amp;quot;TVs have gotten bigger and bulkier, but to a young child, even a small TV that weighs 10 pounds can cause serious damage, especially if it&amp;#039;s falling from a height,&amp;quot; Carius says. &amp;quot;This can lead to crushed hands or feet or to significant head injuries ranging from a concussion to bleeding into the brain or a skull fracture.&amp;quot; Children have even died after having a TV fall on them.  The Best Rx: Secure all televisions in your home to furniture, cabinets or wall units with bolts or braces, Carius advises. And don&amp;#039;t let young children \u2014 those under 3 \u2014 have access to them without adult supervision. 6. Formaldehyde in Home Furnishings Most of us fantasize about redoing our homes with new furniture, carpeting, the works \u2014 but if you&amp;#039;re about to make that dream come true, listen up. New carpets, UFFI insulation and furniture or cabinets that are made of pressed wood or particleboard may release formaldehyde into the air through a process called off-gassing. Formaldehyde is a potentially dangerous chemical that is used in the manufacturing of these products. Not only can off-gassing fumes cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, but they can also trigger asthma in kids who are susceptible to it (say those with a family history), and long-term exposure has been linked to lung and sinus cancer, Landrigan notes.  The Best Rx: Since the release of formaldehyde gas does cease within a matter of weeks after these products are manufactured, the best game plan is to let them air out \u2014 on a porch, for instance \u2014 for a few weeks before installing them, Landrigan says. If that&amp;#039;s not possible (and let&amp;#039;s face it, it&amp;#039;s usually not), keep the room with the new stuff in it well ventilated \u2014 by opening the windows and using a fan as much as possible \u2014 until you no longer detect any odor. To find out whether formaldehyde is in your insulation and causing excess concentrations in the air in your home, you&amp;#039;ll need to hire an industrial hygienist or air-quality engineer to test your home, Shannon says. (Look in the yellow pages or call your local EPA office to get a referral.) &amp;quot;If levels are excessively high, consider removing it.&amp;quot;  7. Noise Ah, modern life: Between blow-dryers, lawn mowers, and coffee grinders, the volume has been turned up several notches in and around our homes. And for kids, life is often louder still, with GameBoys, Discmans, and TVs contributing to the din. In fact, some children&amp;#039;s toys have the same decibel level as a jackhammer; certain rattles and squeak toys register as high as 110 decibels, the equivalent of a rock concert, say researchers. Not only can such noise damage a child&amp;#039;s hearing, but &amp;quot;it can be disruptive to a child&amp;#039;s language and cognitive development,&amp;quot; says psychologist Arlene L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., professor emerita of hearing at Lehman College, City University of New York and a consultant to the League for the Hard of Hearing. &amp;quot;And of course noise creates stress and makes it hard to concentrate.&amp;quot; In fact, a recent study at Cornell University in New York found that children who live in neighborhoods with chronic traffic noise have higher blood pressure, heart rates, and levels of stress hormones than their peers from quieter surroundings. Meanwhile, a study at the Institute of Hygiene and Social Medicine in Austria found that children aged 8 to 11 who live in noisy homes tend to have poorer classroom behavior than those who reside in quiet homes.  The Best Rx: First off, make an effort to turn down the volume on stereos, TVs, Walkmans, and other household noise-makers (agree that the sound on the TV can&amp;#039;t go above a certain number or setting, for instance). Also try to lower your voice when talking to your children, institute a household rule of no yelling from room to room, and introduce quiet hours during which your kids can read, draw, or study. As for toys, choose quieter ones. Try them out in the store before buying them; if you wince when the toy is held close to your head, put it back on the shelf. When you purchase noisy household appliances, such as vacuums and dishwashers, opt for quieter models, Bronzaft suggests. You can also prevent unwanted sounds from entering your home by sealing or caulking around loose windows and doors, installing double-paned windows, or putting in heavy drapes and plush carpeting to absorb sound.  Alert: Home Gyms Are Dangerous! That treadmill, exercise bike, or rowing or stair-climbing machine may be good for your health, but it can pose a danger to your children. &amp;quot;Young kids stick their hands or feet into the equipment, and in some cases children&amp;#039;s fingers or toes have been cut off,&amp;quot; says Michael Carius, M.D. Also, a study at the University of Pennsylvania found that a number of children have suffered treadmill-induced burns to their hands that were serious enough to require surgical repair. &amp;quot;The rubberized belt acts like a sander and takes the skin off,&amp;quot; says study coauthor Benjamin Chang, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery. How to protect your kids? Keep all exercise equipment in a room your children don&amp;#039;t have access to. And don&amp;#039;t exercise with your child in the room unless someone else is watching her closely. Make sure each apparatus has a locking mechanism; otherwise unplug the machine between exercise sessions or cover any moving parts when the machine is not being used. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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