Toddlers and Grandma’s medicines

We have another child in the PICU who is there because of an overdose of medicine, in this case his grandmother’s antidepressant medication. I frequently see this scenario happen: parents are careful to keep all medicines locked away from curious toddlers, but then the child visits grandparents who, not having small children regularly around the house, are not so diligent. Many older persons take one or more of a wide variety of powerful medications that can cause serious or even lethal poisoning in small children. Child-proof caps are sometimes difficult for the elderly to open, so they may not use them. I deal with the results of what this can lead to at least several times each year. A parent whose small child spends significant time at another house, especially if someone living there takes medicines, should make sure those medicines are stored safely. Toddlers are amazingly quick at getting into trouble.

The best and fastest way to get advice about poisonings in children is to call your regional Poison Control Center. To make this easy to do, the telephone number is the same across the nation: 1-800-222-1222.