EDITOR’S
NOTE: In honor of National Poison Prevention Week, New York Family consulted
Charles Tabouchirani, owner of Cherry’s Pharmacy on the Upper East Side, about how to
protect kids from what’s inside your medicine cabinet (or in your purse).
Medication poisonings in children happen often, even
with the use of childproof containers. In 2009, more than one-half of poisonings happened in children who were
younger than 6 years old. Adults can also be victims of accidental medication poisoning. There are many things
you can do to prevent poisonings from happening in your home. —
Drugs and
Medicine Precautions:
- Follow the directions on the bottle whenever you give
or take medicines. Read all of the warning labels. Some medicines cannot be taken when you take other
medicines or drink alcohol. - Turn on a light
when you give or take medicines at night so that you know you have the right
amount of the right medicine. - Keep medicines in their original bottles or
containers. - Never share or sell your prescription drugs.
- Keep pain medications, such as methadone, hydrocodone,
and oxycodone, in a safe place that can only be reached by people who take or give them.Keeping Children Safe:
- Put the poison control number on or near every home
telephone and save it on your cell phone. In the U.S., thenumber is 1-800-222-1222. In Canada, the number is different for each province. You can
find the correct phone number on the
first page of your local telephone book or online here: - Keep all drugs in medicine cabinets or other
childproof cabinets that young children cannot reach. - Don’t take medicine in front of children because they
like to copy adults. - Don’t call medicine “candy.”
- Don’t let guests leave drugs where children can find
them, such as in a purse, backpack, coat pocket, or unlocked suitcase. - When you take medicines, do not put your next dose on
the counter where children can reach them. - Never leave children alone with your medications. If
you are taking medicine and you have to do something else, such as answer the phone, take young children
with you. - Don’t leave your medication out after use. Put them in
a childproof cabinet as soon as you are done with them. - Don’t throw away medication patches or pills where
children can find them. Used medication patches should be folded in half (so the sticky side sticks together)
before discarding. There may still be enough medication in a used patch to harm a child or pet if chewed. Check
with your pharmacist about what to do with medications you no longer need.
What to Do If A
Poisoning Happens:
- Stay calm.
- Call 911 if you have a poison emergency and the victim
has passed out or is not breathing. If the victim is awake, call your poison control center. Try to have
the following information:
- How old the victim is and how much they weigh
- What time the poisoning happened
- What the victim took
- Where the poisoning happened
- Stay on the phone and follow the instructions from the
emergency operator or poison control center.
For more on Cherry’s Pharmacy, a family-oriented pharmacy located on East 66th Street, check out our interview with owner Charles Tabouchirani.
