National Poison Prevention Week March 18-24, 2007
Injury Free Coalition for Kids
Date: Sun, Mar 18, 2007 to
Sat, Mar 24, 2007
Organizer/Sponsor: Kentucky Children's Hospital/Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Lexington/SAFE KIDS Fayette County
Poison Prevention Tips Media Contact: Mary Margaret Colliver [mcolliv@email.uky.edu?subject=[NEWS] RE:Poison Prevention Tips], (859) 361-1887 LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 22, 2007) – In recognition of National Poison Prevention Week March 18-24, 2007, SAFE KIDS Fayette County and the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Lexington at Kentucky Children’s Hospital would like to alert parents to the dangers of giving any over the counter medication to infants without first checking with the infant’s physician or other primary care provider.
"In the past few years there have been deaths resulting from cough and cold medications among children up to age two," said Dr. Susan Pollack, a pediatrician at UK HealthCare's Kentucky Children's Hospital who also heads up the Injury Free Coalition for Kids. "These medications have been given to relieve congestion/cough or for sleep. Please be aware of this risk and never give any medication to a child under age two without correct dosage and physician approval."
Be safe and follow these medication safety rules when administering any type of prescription or over the counter medicines to a child: Only give medications that have been prescribed for that child by a physician, whether it’s prescription medications or over the counter medicines. Never give adult cough medicine to an infant or child. Even medicine prescribed for an older child could harm or kill an infant, so always check with your child’s doctor. If your child is taking more than one medication, be sure to discuss all of these medicines with your child’s doctor before adding any additional medicine. Be careful if giving more than one medication to your child, because some over the counter medications contain combinations of medicines which can result in unintentional overdoses when mixed with another medicine. Make sure that you read the directions on the medicine label and any precautions or side effect information. Measure dose carefully and double check. Always read dosing instructions and measure medications in a well-lit room, not in the dark. Giving medications more often than prescribed can result in poisoning/overdose. If caregivers for a child change, be sure to write down or report to the person assuming care when medication was last given. Keep all medications stored out of reach of children; many child resistant caps can be opened by older preschoolers. Be sure to flush all expired or unneeded medications down the toilet. Remember to keep purses out of reach if they contain medications. Your home may be child proofed, but be aware that homes you visit may not be. Grandparents may have prescriptions without child proof caps or medications kept within reach of a child. Encourage those whom children visit regularly to child proof their homes. Never refer to medicine as “candy.” Have the national Poison Control Center number available: (800) 222-1222. For more information or if you have questions, contact the SAFE KIDS office at (859) 323-1153 or the Injury Free office at (859) 323-6194.
The following Web links also provide additional information on Poison Prevention: POISON PREVENTION .ORG [http://news.uky.edu/news/], American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) [http://news.uky.edu/news/poisonpreventiontips.htm] or the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control [http://news.uky.edu/news/poisonprevention.htm].
Contact Information
Inkjury Free Coalition for Kids of Lexington (859)323-6194