Children are at high risk for poisoning from medications
There are two primary ways children can be poisoned from medications:
1. Your own medicine cabinet.
2. Prescription and administration errors by health care providers.
You can do something about #1. A recent article in the New York Times reports on the high incidence of accidental poisoning among children from prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The article cites staggering results from a study from of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found more than twice as many incidents of accidental poisoning from drugs than from household consumer products. Most of those injuries were to toddlers, the most vulnerable of our children.
#2 is much more troubling. We take our children to doctors to be cured and healed — not to be poisoned. The Joint Commission on on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations issued a Sentinel Event Alert last year about the high risk to children from medication errors. The Alert lists a number of reasons that such errors are especially troublesome in children:
1. Many drugs are formulated for adults.
2. Many healthcare settings do not have reference materials or safeguards designed specifically for children.
3. Children have developmental differences in metabolization and excretion of drugs.
4. Proper dosing for children can require additional calculation and fractional dosing with decimal points.
5. Children might not be able to communicate adverse effects.
It’s up to your doctor or other health care provider to get this right, but here are some things you can do to make sure:
Pay close attention to what drugs your child gets from the doctor, nurse, hospital and pharmacy.
Ask lots of questions and be sure you understand the answers. If you do not understand, do not be afraid: ASK AGAIN.
Be sure you understand what effects the medication should and should not have on your child.
Watch your child carefully for any unexpected side effects.
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