As diabetes drugs, statins, beta-blockers and painkillers are being prescribed more frequently, more children are getting their hands on dangerous medications.
"Any of the substances or really any medicines we have around the house has potential for poisoning," says Dr. Eric Jones, pediatrician on Lee Memorial Health System's medical staff.
Toddlers and young children are most at risk. According to SafeKids, children get into the wrong medicine or receive the wrong dose more than a half-million times a year. Those up to five years old were most likely to overdose because they tend to copycat behaviors.
"The things kids want to get into are the things they see adults getting into. So you take your medicine everyday and they want to take their medicine everyday," says Dr. Jones.
Without meaning to, we may be making it easy, keeping pill bottles unsecured in handbags or countertops and even worse, taking them out of the original packaging.
"If we're putting it in different container that's A) not marked and B) is easier to open, partly for older people to be able to open it - it becomes a lot easier for your typical toddler and kid to get into," says Dr. Jones.
Dangerous habits that could prove deadly. Keeping drugs safely tucked away goes a long way in creating a true sense of security.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we've been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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