Did you know that each year approximately 60,000 children are treated in the hospital emergency department due to unintentional medication poisoning? That’s four school busloads of children in the hospital every day! Medication theft is also a concern for many families, and many young people begin abusing prescription drugs with items found in the medicine cabinet in their home.
Follow these tips to protect your family:
• Educate your family about the importance of medication safety
• Store medications in a safe and secure location that is not accessible or visible to children. You can call 513-735-8400 for more information about getting a medication lockbox from Public Health.
• Never leave medications on the kitchen counter or at your bedside.
• Always replace the medicine bottle’s safety cap by twisting it until you hear the “click”
• Remind babysitters and houseguests to keep their purses and bags that contain medicine up high and out of sight when they’re in your home.
• Monitor your medications regularly to verify they are accounted for and not expired.
• Dispose of your unused or expired medication properly in a drug drop box or by using a drug de-activation product like a Deterra bag. Click here for a list of permanent drug drop box locations.
• Keep the Poison Control Center phone number (800-222-1222) posted in a convenient location in your home or save it in your cell phone, and call immediately if you think your child may have gotten into medicine, even if you aren’t sure.
To learn more about medication safety visit the following resources:
- https://www.upandaway.org/
- https://www.knowyourotcs.org/
- http://www.scholastic.com/otcmedsafety/parents/
- https://www.safekids.org/medication-safety-0
