A visiting, arthritic grandparent leaves her easy-to-open bottle of medication within a toddler’s reach.

Party guests leave half-full glasses of wine or beer on end tables – again within a curious child’s grasp.

Bottles of cleansers sit atop counters as the holiday cleaning frenzy begins.

“With everybody rushing around, nobody is paying close attention to the children,” says Dr. Marilyn Gifford, director of emergency services at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colo. In the blink of an eye, a child can pick up and consume something toxic.

Most child poisonings occur in the kitchen or bathroom when a parent is nearby, according to the National Safety Council. Medications, household cleaners and automotive products are the most common things children swallow, the NSC says. The Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center list also includes cosmetics, personal-care products, topical creams, ointments, insecticides/pesticides and plants.

Seventy percent of the calls to the poison center can be handled at home without a visit to the emergency room, but that doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t take it seriously when their child swallows a nonfood substance, says Tedd Perry, RMPDC education coordinator.

Something that may not hurt an adult could harm a child – and a child can get to a lot more things than a parent might suspect.

“The 6-month-old puts everything into his mouth, while the 3-year-old is the climber,” Perry says.

And it doesn’t matter if it smells horrible, says Patti McNab, registered nurse and clinical manager for emergency and intensive care at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs.

“Campho-phonique, which contains camphor, is something I don’t even want in the same room with me, but we have had children drink a bottle,” McNab says. “There is nothing they won’t drink.”

As a mother of five, McNab says something that always worries her is blue-colored windshield washing fluid in large plastic bottles that is used more frequently in winter. It too closely resembles blueberry-flavored Kool-Aid, she says.

“As little as one ounce of the washer fluid can cause significant permanent damage.”

Children are attracted to things that look like familiar foods. Pine oil is a common cause of child poisoning because it looks like apple juice, says the NSC.

Pills look like candy. Grown-ups, especially during cold and flu season, like to keep them handy in a bathroom or kitchen cabinet, on a bedside table or in a purse. None of those places is totally out of reach of children, McNab says.

“Children will climb to get something they think tastes good,” McNab says.

Parents should teach and constantly preach to kids that medications of any kind never should be taken without adult permission or knowledge.

“Even my teen-agers know not to take anything without telling me first,” McNab says.

Other hazards, holiday and everyday, include many items:

: Flavored, cartoon-character-shaped children’s vitamins with iron that resemble candy. An overdose of iron in some can be toxic to a child.

: Flavored children’s medications, which should be administered in carefully measured doses.

: Alcohol poisoning from drinking out of unattended party glasses.

: Poisonous holiday plants like the berries from holly and mistletoe. The American Medical Association says it’s a myth that poinsettias are poison.

: Mouthwash, after-shave, nail polish and polish remover, cosmetics.

: Lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 or on the clothes of someone who works in a battery or radiator shop. Chips or dust can mix with soil in the yard or into carpets and onto toys and hands and into the mouth.

Gifford recommends that parents keep the local poison center hotline number posted near the phone and call it first.

All 911 calls are routed to the center, where a nurse or medical expert can quickly determine whether the problem can be handled at home or referred to a doctor or emergency room, Gifford says.

The best solution, year-round, for keeping poisons out of children’s hands is to use inexpensive and simple gadgets to lock cabinets or keep youngsters out of certain areas of the home, Gifford says.

During the holidays, talk to guests and visitors about not leaving medications and alcohol around the house.

“It’s all a matter of awareness and vigilance,” says the poison center’s Perry. (KRT)

Make sure you. . .

DO:

: Ask for safety-lock tops on all prescriptions.

: Keep cleaners, bug sprays, medicines and other harmful products out of reach and sight, preferably in a cabinet or drawer with a child-safety latch.

: Store products in original containers.

: Read the labels before taking medicine and follow the directions for all products.

: Keep automotive products and garden supplies in a locked cabinet in the garage.

: Keep ashtrays clean and all liquor out of reach.

: Keep a bottle of Syrup of Ipecac or charcoal found at pharmacies on hand, but administer only on the advice of a doctor or nurse.

DON’T:

: Induce vomiting unless told to by a doctor or poison- control expert.

: Don’t give an unconscious child or one having convulsions anything to drink because he could aspirate liquid or choke if he vomits.

: Don’t store food and household cleaners together.

: Don’t take medicine in front of children because they love to “imitate” parents.

: Don’t call medicine “candy.”

: Don’t transfer gasoline, bug spray, antifreeze or cleaning supplies from their original containers into soft drink bottles, cups or bowls.

: Don’t leave medicines or personal-care products in such easy-to-reach places as bedside tables or dressers. Even a bathroom medicine cabinet can be accessible.