Children under five years old make up most of the 100,000 Americans treated in the ER after accidentally swallowing medications not prescribed to them. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about 90 % of these accidents happen at home. In fact, children between the ages of 18 to 36 months are the most at risk, because they are naturally curious and not capable of understanding what medication is. It is very important that everyone in the home be vigilant about keeping their medications locked and out of reach in a home with toddlers and infants. This includes any visitors to the home and also grandparents and babysitters. There are several things you can do to make sure that your toddlers and infants are kept safe from prescription medications. It is important to lock up your medicines and keep them out of reach. In addition to this, always throw away any unnecessary, expired or unused medications. It is also a good idea to never take your medicine in front of your children, as they may imitate your behavior without really understanding what they are doing.
If your child accidentally ingests medication, the first thing to do is to call your local poison control. It is important not to wait to see if symptoms will occur, because by the time that the child shows symptoms, it may be too late. Poison control hotlines can be very helpful, as they can look up all medications and dosages and give parents helpful information, such as possible antidotes or to direct you to the ER immediately.
There are 7 kinds of medications that can kill children with just one pill, including some over the counter medications. Heart pills are prescribed to adults for the common problem of high blood pressure. These calcium channel blockers can cause dangerously low blood pressure and heart rate, seizures and lead to shock. Over the counter muscle rubs containing camphor and Aspirin are also extremely dangerous. If a toddler or infant ingests as little as a teaspoon of a camphor containing muscle rub such as Vicks VaporRub, it can cause seizures leading to coma and death. Prescription pain medications are also a huge potential risk for children. If a child accidentally takes a narcotic it can cause them to become sleepy and stop breathing often leading to death. Antidepressants are the second highest cause of accidental death in children under 6. Topical Blood Pressure Patches, Eye Drops and Nasal sprays are also dangerous if ingested. The symptoms can be delayed for up to 4 hours, so it can sometimes be hard to tell what is wrong with the child unless you witness the ingesting. And last of all Diabetes medications can cause life threatening problems if taken by an infant or toddler. These medications can cause dangerously low blood sugar and seizures.
It only takes is one pill, so the most important thing to remember is to keep your medications locked up and out of reach of toddlers and infants, and to make sure that all visitors to your home are vigilant with their medications as well.