New Survey Finds Drastic Increase In Medication-Related Poisoning In Children
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The number of children being treated for medication-related poisoning has been rising dramatically.
According to a new survey, 59,000 children end up in emergency rooms each year as a result of medication poisoning.
The older we get, the more medications we take. Too often, we leave them on the nightstand. Using a day of the week pill container is easy for you and all to easy for your grandchild to open.
"A fair number of the kids find a pill that dropped on the ground, on the carpet, they can be found in purses," says Emergency Medicine Dr. Kate Cronan of the Nemours Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children. "People will occasionally leave medications in their pocketbooks."
Dr. Cronan says if you think a child got into your medications watch for signs.
"They suddenly start acting very sleepy, beyond how they get for a nap," she says, "or they act just not like themselves, or they're confused or vomiting."
Call poison control or 911 -- and if you can tell doctors what medications you take, that will help a lot.
Cronan says a new study shows that a child seeks emergency care for medicine poisoning every nine minutes.