HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR HELOISE: Please warn your readers of the dangers of button batteries and children swallowing them. My son was able to get one out of a musical greeting card, but luckily I was there and stopped him before he could put it in his mouth. It seems more items have these tiny batteries, and we all need to be aware of the danger.

  • Julie T. in Indiana

DEAR READER: Thank you for writing to warn parents and grandparents. These very small batteries can be in children’s books, some toys with remote controls and even greeting cards. More children are ending up needing medical attention because they swallow these batteries, or even stick them in their nose or ears. So try to keep these batteries out of their reach.

If you think your child has swallowed a battery, don’t let him or her eat or drink, and don’t try to get your child to regurgitate. Seek medical attention immediately - call 911! Please don’t waste valuable time thinking it’s not a big deal. It is, and don’t drive your child to the hospital yourself - call 911. It’s better to go to the emergency room and have it not be a life-threatening situation.

DEAR HELOISE: When I go to an outdoor event or on vacation and plan to use my camera, I always pack a shower cap in my pocket or purse. Many times I have protected my camera by covering it with the shower cap when an unexpected rain shower went through or there was a splash from ocean waves.

  • Maria D. in Florida

DEAR HELOISE: When I was buying a car, I was alarmed that all the doors unlocked when the car was put in park. This is a safety issue to me, because I don’t want my doors and hatchback to unlock automatically when I park at a gas station or an ATM. The dealership was able to change this so that the doors stayed locked. Reading the owners manual, I found that I could change the setting by following the directions.

  • Janet S., via email

DEAR HELOISE: If you buy multiple bottles of wine at the supermarket, some give you a stand-up, sturdy cardboard container to carry them home. These containers are perfect for holding your wax paper, aluminum foil, boxes of bags, etc.

  • Muriel L. in California

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email [email protected]

Style, Pages 32 on 04/01/2014

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