Each day in the United States, approximately 100 young children are brought to hospital emergency rooms after they find and get into medicines that are left within their sight and reach.
Many medicines and supplements – including those in gummy form – look like candy (Figure 1), and it can be difficult for young children (and even adults) to tell the difference (Figure 2, see below). It is important to teach young children that medicine is not candy and that they should never take medicines on their own. Parents, grandparents, and other caregivers should always keep all medicines, vitamins, and other supplements(including those in gummy form) Up and Away and out of children’s sight and reach.
Here's what you can do: Here are some important tips to help parents, grandparents, and other caregivers keep young children safe:
Store medicines in a safe location that is too high for young children to see or reach.
Never leave medicines or supplements out on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you must give the medicine again in a few hours.
Always relock the safety cap on a medicine bottle. If it has a locking cap that turns, twist it until you can’t twist anymore or until you hear the “click.”
Tell children what medicine is and why you or another trusted caregiver must be the one to give it to them.
Never tell children medicine is candy, even if they don’t like to take their medicine.
Remind babysitters, houseguests, and visitors to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicines in them up and away and out of sight when they’re in your home.
Call Poison Help at 800.222.1222 right away if you think your child might have gotten into a medicine, vitamin, or other supplement (including those in gummy form) even if you are not completely sure.
International drugs may have same name but different uses
Many people rely on prescription and/or over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to treat an array of conditions. When traveling, either for business or leisure, that doesn’t change. So, if you will be traveling outside your home country, there is something important you need to know about medicines. The country you are traveling to may have the same brand name medicine available but it may actually contain a different ingredient that is used to treat a different condition.
A child's father went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for liquid amoxicillin, an antibiotic used to fight infections. The liquid form of this medicine starts as a powder that needs to be mixed with a specific amount of water by the pharmacist before use. By mistake, the pharmacist gave the child's father the bottle of medicine with just the powder.
Important vaccine needs to be given to protect our preteen children from cancer
Routine, recommended vaccines in the US currently offer some level of protection against 17 infectious diseases. One of these vaccines targets preteen boys and girls between 11 and 12 years of age—the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. According to the 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Immunization Survey (NIS)-Teen, this vaccine is not widely used. Only 66% of boys and 67% of girls had received at least the first vaccine dose by age 15. Even fewer completed the full vaccine series of 2 to 3 doses—just 53% of girls and 48% of boys.
Understanding the results on your blood glucose monitor screen
More than 30 million—nearly 1 in every 10—Americans have diabetes. To help manage their condition, many people with diabetes use a small, portable glucose meter to measure the amount of sugar (glucose) in their blood. After pricking the skin with a sharp lancet (small needle), one places a drop of blood on a test strip inserted in the glucose meter. The glucose meter then displays the blood sugar level on the screen. People with low or high blood sugar readings need to make quick treatment decisions. If the blood sugar reading is low, the person needs to eat or drink a sugary food or beverage, like candy, glucose tablets, or orange juice. This helps raise the amount of sugar in the blood to normal limits. If the reading is high, the person may need to take more insulin. The extra insulin helps lower the amount of sugar in the blood. If the blood sugar reading is normal, no additional food or medicine is needed. Unfortunately, mistakes have been made when making these treatment decisions due to the way the blood sugar results are displayed on some glucose meter screens.