March 20, 2013 – Peoria, IL – Today Safe Kids Worldwide® released a new research report that found kids are getting into medicine at an alarming rate. Every minute of every day, a poison control center receive a call about potential medicine poisoning for a child age five and under. And 67,000 times each year, or every eight minutes, a young child goes to the emergency room for medicine poisoning. This is a 30 percent increase over the past ten years.
In its report entitled “An In-Depth Look at Keeping Young Children Safe Around Medicine,” Safe Kids examines data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, information from poison control centers and findings from several focus groups among moms. The report reviews what is happening in households that leads to these disturbing numbers and offers parents simple things they can do to protect their children.
“Ask any parent, and they will tell you they store medicine where children can’t get them,” said Lynn Geier, Safe Kids Peoria Area. “But they are might not be thinking of pills stored in purses, vitamins left on counter tops or a diaper rash remedy near a changing table.”
The increase in exposure reflects the increase in medicines in the home. Most adults take medicine or vitamins on a regular basis; eight out of ten adults took at least one medicine or vitamin in the past week, and three out of ten adults took five or more. But they don’t always keep them up and away from kids. In 86 percent of emergency room visits for medicine poisoning, the child got into medicine belonging to an adult.
“Curious kids can get into trouble fast,” added Lynn Geier. “It only takes a few seconds for children to get into medicine that could make them very sick. Take a look around your house to make sure all medicine is up and away and out of sight.”
Tips to Keep Kids Safe Around Medicine
• Put medicine and vitamins up and away and out of sight. (In 67 percent of emergency room visits for medicine poisoning, the medicine was left within reach of the child, such as in a purse, on a counter, or under a sofa cushion.)
• Even if you are tempted to keep it handy, put medicine out of reach after every use.
• Look around your home for products you might not think about as medicine, like rubbing alcohol, eye drops or gummy vitamins, and store them out of the reach of children.
• When you have guests in your home, offer to put purses, bags and coats where kids can’t get to them. (In 43 percent of emergency room visits for medicine poisoning, the child got into medicine belonging to a relative, such as an aunt, uncle or grandparent.)
• Be alert to medicine in places your child visits. Take a look around to make sure there isn’t medicine within reach of your child.
• Program the nationwide poison control center number (1-800-222-1222) into your phones.
• Visit SafeKids.org for more tips on safe storage, safe dosing and safe disposal of medicine.
National Poison Prevention Week is March 17 – 23, 2013.
About Safe Kids Peoria Area Coalition: Safe Kids Peoria Area works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Safe Kids Peoria Area is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Peoria Area was founded in 1999 and is led by Children’s Hospital of Illinois and American Red Cross. For more information, visit safekids.org or call Children’s Hospital of Illinois Safety Information Line at 1-877-277-6543.