Not too long ago, Evy Duff, maternal health coordinator for the Fairfax County Department of Health, was talking to a parent who told her the medicines have gotten so good tasting these days that her child likes taking them.
The statement scared Duff.
While all parents would like to have hassle-free experiences with their child when it comes to taking medicines, the fact that children may want to take their medicine can create a hazardous situation.
"This is a dangerous issue. If the medicine looks like candy and tastes like candy, it is dangerous," Duff said, because it increases the possibility of a child’s overdosing on the medication if not properly supervised.
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, each year poison centers manage more than 2 million emergency calls, nearly half of which involve medicines and children under age 6.
THE IMPORTANT THING for parents to remember, said Rose Ann Soloway, a clinical toxicologist at the National Capital Poison Center in Washington D.C., is that children cannot tell the difference between what is safe and what is not.
One reason is that several safe items look like items that can be poisonous, especially to children. For example, red M&Ms are the same color and nearly the same size as Motrin IB; Altoids and Tylenol tablets are almost identical; and a Hershey's chocolate bar is similar in appearance to Ex-Lax.
"Children put everything in their mouth," Soloway said. "The reality is that if the youngsters are at home, they are more likely to get into things they shouldn't. Well more than 90 percent of all poisonings happen in the home."
Soloway said the numbers of calls to the poison centers tend to increase over the summer because there are a number of things in the home that are not normally there such as charcoal fluid, various skin lotions, lighter fluid and even wild mushrooms, all of which are poisonous if a child swallows them.
COMMON HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS that are especially poisonous to children include pesticides; hydrocarbons, such as furniture polish, gasoline or paint thinner; chemicals that cause burns, such as drain opener and oven cleaner; and automotive fluids, such as antifreeze and windshield washer fluid.
Both prescription and nonprescription medicines also present a hazard to children if taken because of their small body systems and low body weight. Medicines for heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes can be fatal, for example, even in small doses, and adult-strength iron supplements can cause bleeding in the stomach of a child.
"Medicine cabinets should be up high, and there shouldn't be anything for the child to step up on," Duff said. "Kids are curious."
All items that can be dangerous to children should be placed up high where children cannot reach them or kept in locked cabinets, said Soloway.
IF, DESPITE THE BEST EFFORTS of parents or other caregivers, a child should gain access to a poisonous substance, the most important thing to do is call the National Poison Center, 1-800-222-1222, said Soloway, before taking any other action.
"Don't wait to see what might happen or try to figure out what to do," Soloway said. "The National Poison Center will connect you to the local poison center, and they will tell you what to do."
She said in most cases, a remedy can be administered at home, but in cases where the person may need to go to the hospital, the center will call 911 and advise the hospital as to what treatment is necessary.
"The people that are the experts on poison are at the poison center," Soloway said.