June -- National Safety Month: Grandparents! Prevent Your Grandchildren from Being Poisoned: Safety Alert!

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June -- National Safety Month: Grandparents! Prevent Your Grandchildren from Being Poisoned: Safety Alert!

A startling fact has been learned in a study undertaken by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in association with the Poison Information Center at the Children`s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. This study showed that 36% of the childhood ingestions related to a prescription vial involved a grandparent`s medication.

Grandparents and parents must become aware of the surprising finding that over one-third of the accidental childhood prescription drug ingestions involve a grandparent`s medication. Grandparents often have non-child-resistant prescription vials or loose pills out on tables, kitchen counters, or in purses or pockets. Children swallow these medications when they are visiting grandparents or when the grandparents visit them.

To prevent this continuing tragedy:

Parents and grandparents must keep medicines out of the reach-and out of sight-of grandchildren.
Grandparents should use child-resistant vials if they are able to. Although grandparents may get traditional easy-to-open closures by asking their pharmacist for them, the child-resistant vials should be used whenever children are around. It is true that child-resistant closures are inconvenient to use, but the inconvenience is worth it to save a child`s life!

Children are curious; adults must help keep children safe.

For more information on how to prevent childhood poisonings, call the toll-free CPSC Hotline on 800-638-CPSC. A TTY for the hearing impaired can be reached on 800-638-8270.

Source/Resource: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2000.

June is National Safety Month. To read more safety information available on our website, please click the following link:

Home Safety for Seniors

This article first appeared in Volume 6, Issue 7 of "The Social Security and Medicare Advisor" newsletter (June/2001). To receive future editions of "The Advisor" in its special, free e-mail version, please click here.