Minnesota Poison Control reports "alarming" rise in opioid poisoning in young children
MINNEAPOLIS -- State officials say there has been an "alarming" rise in children exposed to opioids like fentanyl in Minnesota within the last year.
Minnesota Poison Control Systems says it has been contacted about 66 children under the age of 3 who went to hospitals due to opioid exposure since 2022.
The agency believes there are likely many more cases of children exposed to opioids that have gone unreported.
Most of the exposures occur at home when children come into contact with fentanyl, according to MPCS.
READ MORE: Good Question: What is fentanyl?
"It's essential to keep opioids and other harmful substances away from children and to keep children away from areas and surfaces where they are used," said Dr. Travis Olives, associate medical director for the MPCS.
Fentanyl is typically added to street drugs from cocaine to pills to even marijuana. Often, it is added without the user knowing it.
Poison control says that naloxone, also known as Narcan, and rescue breathing can be lifesaving in the event of an overdose.
Symptoms of opioid exposure can include sleepiness, unresponsiveness, shallow breathing, vomiting, blue-shaded skin and small pupils.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 105,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2022 - nearly 80,000 of those deaths involved opioids.