Monday, March 25, 2013

HOW SAFE ARE YOU WITH MEDICATIONS IN YOUR HOME AND AROUND YOUR CHILDREN?






As a mom I am always thinking about safety. Accidents can happen so quickly and when it does it is too late. I take extra precautions with all medications, vitamins, aspirins and cough drops. We keep them out of sight and out of hands reach of our children. We store all of these products high up in our linen closet where my kids are not able to reach. Because of the location that we have chosen; they are not able to slide a stool or chair to reach medicines on the shelves. Unfortunately a lot of vitamins, cough syrups and medicines have fun colors and tasty flavors.  Children tend to be attracted to these colors, shapes and flavors; so it is imperative to be extra cautious.  Taking it a step further; I do not even allow my children to go into my purse or diaper bag.  Even though most medications have child proof safety caps, I have noticed children are quick to pick up new things and may learn how to open even these; therefore I do not fully trust that system. 

Too many times on the news I hear of a child being overdosed with common over the counter products, such as cold medicines and fever reducers!  I take my children's safety very seriously, as we all do, so it's important to always follow the recommended guidelines that are printed on the medications / prescriptions.  If you have more than one child, you should never share prescription medicines from child to child because there could be safety repercussions. Always use the dosage cup or syringe provided with the medication to ensure that your child is receiving the correct recommended dosage.
 

"Safe Kids Worldwide conducted an in-depth analysis to help inform parents during National Poison Prevention Week (March 17-23) of the importance of proper medicine storage, dosage, and disposal. Sharing practical tips to help families prevent accidental medicine poisoning. Some of these tips to keep our children safe both inside and outside of their home include keeping medicines up and out of sight, being aware of where visitors like grandparents keep their medication, and keeping products you may not initially see as medicine out of reach."

Here are some medication safety tips:
 
Put medicines up and away and out of sight.
~ Make sure that all medications, including vitamins and adult medicines, are stored out of reach and out of sight of children. In 86% of emergency room visits for medicine poisoning, the child got into medicine belonging to an adult.

 
Consider products you might not think about as medicines.
~    Most parents know to store medicine up and away – or at least the products they consider to be medicine. But they don’t always think about products such as eye drops or vitamins, which may not seem like medicine but actually are. Look around your home to see what products are within the reach of children and may be harmful, then move them up and away.

 
Be alert to visitors medicine.
When you have visitors in your home, offer to put purses, bags and coats out of reach of children to protect their property from a curious child.  Well meaning visitors may not be thinking about the medicines that they have brought with them in their belongings. In 43%of emergency room visits for medicine poisoning, the child got into medicine belonging to a relative, such as an aunt, uncle or grandparent.

 
Put medicines up and away after every use
 It may be tempting to keep medicine close at hand when you need to give another dose of medicine in just a few hours. Accidents happen fast,  only taking a few seconds for children to get into medicine that could make them very sick.  Put medicine up and away after every use. And if you need a reminder, set an alarm on your watch or cell phone, or write yourself a note.

 
Read the label and know what is in the medicine.
  Take the time to read the label and follow the directions on your child’s medicine.  Check the active ingredients listed on the label.  Don’t give your child more than one medicine with the same active ingredient.  Giving your child two or medicines that have the same active ingredient can put your child at risk for an overdose.

 
 Put the Poison Control number in your home and cell phone: 1-800-222-1222.
 You can also put the number on your refrigerator or another place in your home where babysitters can see it.

(click image to enlarge)




The extra precautions that parents take can save a child's life, so why not take these precautions? Gives you something to seriously to think about. Never think it can't happen in your home or to your children because it can! Follow Safe Kids Worldwide on Facebook and/or Twitter and stay up to date with safety tips and important information.


"I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Safe Kids Worldwide and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation."

Mama to 4 Blessings is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. #ad


 

14 comments:

  1. These are some great tips. I sometimes need to remind my husband that medicines should be up and away and out of sight (he can be forgetful). Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Great and very important tips.

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  3. I never thought about eye drops as medicine. Good point. I also don't have that phone number handy. Thank you for reminding us of these very important tips.

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  4. These are awesome tips. I totally agree with you on these things, and we don't even let our almost 4 year old watch us take medicine. I hate that they make medicine the same shapes and colors as candy which makes it confusing to little ones. Plus, if they see us take medicine, they think it's okay to do so!

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  5. These are all great tips. But remember, just because it says it's childproof, a smart kid will still open it. My eldest was genius at getting childproof lids opened.

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  6. Great tips! We keep all of our products, including cough drops and vitamins up above the medicine cabinet or inside it. I also have the discussion often with my kids about how medicine and vitamins are good, but too much of a good thing can make us very sick.

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  7. Great tips! They make some medicines taste so good that kids are bound to want more of it. I know I used to love the taste of dimatapp when I was little. My kids loved the "pink medicine" (amoxicillan) when they were young. They'd still take it now if the doctor would prescribe it lol.

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  8. This is a great reminder to all parents, with some wonderful tips.

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  9. great tips. most important thing is to be smart, and think like your kids do

    Tesa
    tesa@2wired2tired.com

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  10. Great tips! This is so very important for our safety of our kids!

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  11. Great post with some very important tips! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. These are wonderful tips.. Thank you for sharing..

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  13. Thanks for sharing a useful stuff and seems to be helpful, I have searched that Herbal Incense can be used for medication.

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Nicole, the mama behind the Mama to 5 Blessings blog, is a mom to 5 children. Three boys: ages 8 years, 5 years, 2 years, a daughter 4 years and a new baby girl born April 19th 2013. She has been married to her husband Fritz for 11 years. Here at Mama to 5 Blessings you will find quite a variety of topics: recipes, crafts for moms and children, homeschooling, parenting, reviews and giveaways, thrifty tips and much more! Mama to 5 Blessings can also be found on Twitter @mamato3blessing, Facebook and Pinterest.