By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album
Reviewed by Larry Forthun, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida
This post is part of a series recognizing National Poison Prevention Week. Learn more at Poison Help.
If you have grandchildren, their visits to your home are likely a source of great joy in your life. When they come to see you, you may place fragile or breakable items out of reach, or put away toxic cleaning products. But what about your prescription medications?
If this precaution has slipped your mind, you’re not alone. A recent poll by a children’s hospital indicated that grandparents were four times more likely than parents to leave these medicines where children could get to them. However, moms, dads, and other adults also make this mistake–sometimes with serious consequences.
In fact, a new study in the journal Pediatrics reveals that the number of children and teens visiting emergency rooms due to prescription drug poisoning has increased by more than 30% in recent years. This rise appears to be partly due to a general increase in the number of medications taken by adults. While poisonings from diabetes and blood pressure drugs were the most common, painkiller poisonings were the most likely to result in serious injury or death.
Children under 5 years old were at greatest risk. However, teens can also fall victim to prescription drug poisoning. Most cases in this age group involve intentional misuse.
To keep the children and adolescents in your life safe, always store medications up high and out of sight, in their original containers. Ask guests to do the same, and talk to your children about why medicines are dangerous. Because of the special dangers of prescription painkillers, including abuse by teens, poison control centers recommend keeping these pills locked up.
Although it does take a few extra moments of care, ensuring that our medications are safely put away is worth it. These simple precautions can prevent a needless tragedy.
(Photo credit: Pills by jamie. CC BY 2.0.)
References:
American Association of Poison Control Centers. (2013). American Association of Poison Control Centers urges safe use of prescription painkillers. Retrieved from http://www.aapcc.org/press/16/
Burghardt, L. C., et al. (2013). Adult prescription drug use and pediatric medication exposures and poisonings. Pediatrics. Advance online publication. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2978
C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. (2012). Easy-access medicines a poisoning risk for kids at home. Retrieved from http://www.mottnpch.org/reports-surveys/easy-access-medicines-poisoning-risk-kids-home
PROTECT/Centers for Disease Control (n.d.) Up and Away. Retrieved from http://www.upandaway.org/
0
