March is Poison Prevention Month

By jennylee | Category: Recipes & Kitchen Tips

March is Poison Prevention Month! It should be a time to evaluate your home and how safe it is for your child, especially when it comes to medication.  This blog is a pesonal one for me.  As you may or may not know I have two beautiful children, George-6 and Gracie-3. Last year, my daugher Grace ran a high fever of 103.9 degrees.  Staying up all night with her made me second guess myself the next day as to when I had given her the last dose of Children’s Motrin.  So I gave her some the next morning.  As soon as I finished giving it to her panick immediately struck me as I had feared I had ovedosed her.  I quickly called the nurses line who put me in touch right away with Poison control.  Poison control asked me to look for certain symptoms which she had none and then determined I was just second guessing myslef from lack of sleep and in fact had not  given her back to back Motrin. 

What a relief! But what was interesting happened right after.  The Poison Control center informed me that I was one of the lucky ones.  They said over 57,000 accidental overdoses in children occur every year on OTC children’s medications resulting in dangerous consequences.  According to the U.S. Poison Control Centers "A child is accidentally poisoned every 30 seconds! And more than 50% of all poisonings occur  at home in children under 5 years of age."  They added that my story is a very common one and one that they hear everyday.  They added many parents second guess themsleves due to lack of sleep, active life or just forget to tell dad, babysitter etc. of when the last dose was given to the child resulting in double dosing!  I have to admit I questioned my parenting skills at first- How could I (a mom known to my family and friends as being extremely overprotective and cautious) find myself in such a situation in the first place?  I always had extra pads of paper next to the nightstand and was always good in remembering when the last dose was given to my child. Simple. Lack of sleep and the busy world we all live in can lead to absent mindedness and forgetfullness.  After all I am human however becasue of my own frightening experience and the valuable information I had gathered from Poison Control lead me to develop the Dose Keeper to help parents and caregivers keep better track of their child’s last medication dose.  I also took an active role in eductaing parents through free workshops and health fairs about the proper use of OTC children’s medications. So being Poison Prevention Month I have compiled Do’s and Don’ts list on proper use of children’s medicines to help prevent accidental overdosing.  Accidental overdosing can lead to liver and organ failure and not to mention it can be fatal.  In fact, the world known mayo Clinic stated "The thing that makes Acetaminophen (found in children’s OTC medications) dangeorus, especially for children, is that the difference between a ‘dose’ and a fatal ‘overdose’ is small."

I would love to have my readers share their own experience or know of someone who has been in a similar situation.  If you ever second guessed yourself, even for 1 second, as to when you gave your child their medication raise your hand and know you are not alone.  As the Dose Keeper motto states ‘To error is human but not at the expense of your child.’ Till next time  
            Jenny Lee

Do’s and Don’ts of Giving Your Child Medication 

(Pay close attention to the highlighted ones)

Do…	Read the medicine label very carefully
Do…	keep a record of the last dose taken
Do…	ask your pharmacist for larger type if you can’t read the bottle
Do…	take exact dosage listed on medication bottle
Do…	When you are administering more than one over-the-counter medication, make sure that the products do not contain the same active ingredients.
Do…	use pediatric formulas
Do…	use the measuring device that comes with liquid medications
Do…	contact the emergency department, your child’s physician or a pharmacy if you have any questions about dosage or side affects of the medication.
Do…	Keep medicines out of reach of children at all times
Do…	Consult your doctor
Do…	check for your name on the bottle
Do…	If you are in the middle of taking medicine or using a cleaning product and you need to answer the door or phone, take it with you.
Do…	use the Dose Keeper to help keep track of your last dose
Do…	tell another caregiver of when you gave the last dosage

Don’t…	give your children over-the-counter medications longer than indicated on the label.
Don’t…	Never call medicine candy.
Don’t…	Do not take medicine in front of children; they love to do What adults do.
Don’t…	share your medication with someone else
Don’t…	use medication when it is past its expiration date
Don’t…	take someone else’s medication
Don’t…	store your medications in locations that are either too hot or too cold. For example, the bathroom cabinet may not be the best place for your medication.
Don’t…	double up on medication

         

Posted Thursday, February 28, 2008