Families with young children must be extra careful about where they store medications in the home, as a new report conducted by global nonprofit organization Safe Kids Worldwide has found that 59,000 children were admitted to the emergency department in 2013 due to accidental poisonings that involved over-the-counter and prescription medications.
The researchers noted that even though this number is down from the 75,842 total recorded in 2010, more needs to be done to ensure that children are not getting their hands on potentially dangerous medications.
"The danger is if it is within reach and within their access and it's in something they can open. Trust me, child resistant is not childproof," said Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide.
Children who were at the highest risk of getting admitted to the ED were toddlers younger than three. The report found that seven out of 10 ED visits that were due to accidental poisonings were in children aged 1 to 2.
In the majority of the time, at 48 percent, the children were taking medications that belonged to their grandparents. In 38 percent of the time, children took their parents' medications. The medications that children had access to mainly included pain relievers, allergy pills, vitamins and laxatives.
"We want parents and caregivers to remember that the first line of defense in preventing medicine poisoning is the family," Carr said. "Look around our home, and in our purses, to make sure all medicine is out of reach of children. And please, take a few moments to save the Poison Help Number into your Phone: 1-800-222-1222. It's free, it's available 24/7, and it will put out in touch directly with experts who can help you with an emergency or just with a simple question."
Aside from recommending parents and grandparents to keep all kinds of drugs in high and hard to reach cabinets, the organization is also reminding parents to double check the dosing device that they use for their children's medicine. In some of the cases, accidental poisoning occurred after parents gave their children doses that were too high.
The organization stressed the importance of taking these steps to prevent accidental poisoning, especially since more Americans are getting prescription medicines today than ever before.
