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Almost one-third of oral prescription drugs involved in
accidental ingestions by children under five belong to
someone other than the child's immediate family,
such as grandparents and other older adults. The
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),
the American Association of Poison Control Centers
(AAPCC), and the Poison Prevention Week Council
urge all consumers to use child-resistant packaging. Medications for older adults, including grandparents, are some of the most toxic and therefore present the greatest potential for real tragedy if accidentally ingested by children. In addition, older individuals may not always think about taking extra precautions to keep their medicine out of reach when young children are around. Many other accidental ingestions involve non child-resistant containers that have been dispensed |
to parents with young children. These parents were dangerously
unaware that the packaging provided no child-resistant
protection. In addition, this indicates that
some pharmacists are not aware that all oral pre-scription
drugs must be dispensed in child-resistant
packaging unless non child-resistant packaging is
specifically requested. Most medicine involved in accidental ingestion had been stored where it was convenient to take, which made it readily accessible to children. Kitchen coun-ters, kitchen tables, and kitchen cabinets were some of the most common storage places. CPSC, AAPCC, and the Poison Prevention Week Council urge all consumers to use child-resistant packaging and to store medicine out of sight and out of reach whenever young children are around. |