According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, in 2002 there were 2.4
million toxic ingestions, and more than half of these occurred in children
younger than 6. Children aged 18 to 36 months seemed to be at the highest risk,
and in these little bodies, just one pill can be deadly.
Even more worrisome is the
fact that, after taking some of these pills, a child can appear perfectly fine
until it is too late. "Within two
hours, we have seen patients go from ingestion to death -- even after taking
only one to two pills."
Even when parents make a
habit of keeping medicines out of their children's reach, children seem to be drawn
to pill bottles when they are out for only a short amount of time. There have also been cases where
a visitor to the home drops a pill, or when children find pills on the floor in
a hotel room, in which case parents bring them to the emergency room having no
idea what they took.
For these reasons, parents should recognize the high risk of accidental
ingestions and be prepared to act. Call 911 immediately, experts say, or call
the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. Parents should be prepared to
take their child to the hospital immediately, and bring the bottle
of whatever the child took. Importantly, new
guidelines from the American Association of Pediatrics urge against the use of
Ipecac or any other mechanism to induce vomiting.
Fortunately, once children
are in the emergency room, doctors can rapidly respond, as some medications
have antidotes, reversal agents or supportive therapy.
Below are seven common medicines that can lead
to emergencies when accidentally ingested by kids.
- heart pills
- muscle rubs
- prescription pain medications
- aspirin and oil of wintergreen
- depression drugs
- topical blood pressure patches, eye drops, and nasal sprays
- diabetes drugs
