Safety Tips: Keep Medications Out Of Children's Reach

Madison, Wisconsin - The Safe Kids Coalition reports that more than 60,000 children were seen in emergency departments across the country in 2013 after ingesting medications within their reach.

"Mom's purse is a common place for medications and is often within reach of children," said Nicole Vesely, Safe Kids coordinator at UW Health's American Family Children's Hospital.

The recently released Safe Kids report said 23 percent of the kids who overdosed did so after getting medicine from a pill box.

"Kids also find ways to open pill boxes, so they and medications in any containers should be up and away from children," Vesely said.

Vesely offered these tips to avoid overdoses:

• Put all medicine up and away and out of sight. The child got into medicine belonging to a parent or grandparent in 86 percent of emergency department visits for overdoses.
• Consider places where kids get into medicine. In two out of three emergency department visits for overdoses, the medicine was left within reach of a child.
• Think about other products that you might not consider medicine. Vitamins, diaper rash cream, eye drops and hand sanitizers can be poisonous to kids and should be kept up and away.
• Only use dosing devices that come with medicines. The device is designed for precise dosing and is not the same as a kitchen spoon or a teaspoon or tablespoon used for cooking.