A new national poison hotline number’s being touted as a quick answer in an emergency. Tammy Noble, education co-coordinator for Iowa’s Poison Control Center, says the new number is 800-222-1222. Noble says you can call the new number from anywhere in the U-S and they’ll automatically hook you up with your local poison control center. Noble says having one number makes it easier for people to remember.She says it’s important because if you move, you don’t have to memorize a new number for the poison control center. While the new number will get you to the Iowa center, Noble says they aren’t getting rid of the numbers they now have.The current local and statewide numbers will still work, but she says they’ll now be advertising the national number as the one to call. She says the Iowa center in Sioux City got several thousand calls last year.They got over 32-thousand calls last year, and 23-thousand were actual poison exposures. Noble says the 23-thousand poison calls show parents need to do more to prevent poisonings.Over half of the poison calls involved kids under the age of six. Noble encourages all Iowans to write down the national poison hotline number near their phones.
Iowa's Radio News Network
