In the news
With almost one call every minute to poison control centers and enough kids to fill about four school buses a day1 arriving to emergency rooms due to accidental medicine poisonings, it’s more important than ever for parents to store medicine safely.
A new report by Safe Kids Worldwide, “Safe Medicine Storage: A Look at the Disconnect Between Parent Knowledge and Behavior,” sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., reveals that while most parents know what they should do to protect kids from accidental medicine poisoning, that knowledge isn’t always turning into action. In a new nationwide survey of 2,000 parents, the clear majority of parents agree that it’s important to store all medicine out of sight and up high after every use, but less than half of the survey respondents reported doing so.
What Families Can Do to Protect Kids
- Store medicine up and away and out of sight and reach every time
- Keep medicine in its original child-resistant packaging
- Practice safe storage of medicine as soon as your first child is born
- Put the Poison Help number – 1-800-222-1222 – into your phone and post it visibly at home
- Instead of keeping your medicine handy, use safe reminder tools like cell phone alarms or medication schedules
For more medicine safety tips and to learn more about Safe Kids Worldwide, visit SafeKids.org
A recent survey1 conducted by the U.S. Pain Foundation, with support from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, found that 97% of Americans feel confident when choosing which type of over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicines to take. However, the survey also revealed that many consumers disregard critical safety factors—such as their age, health conditions, and other medicines they are currently taking—when choosing an OTC pain reliever. In fact, results show that 1 in 5 Americans do not consider any of these important safety factors, and that could make a difference to their health because an OTC pain reliever that was right for someone in the past may not be the right choice for them now. That’s why it’s important to always check the Drug Facts label on OTC pain medicines to make sure that it is still a good fit.
Related news
April 4, 2017
New study: Accidental medicine poisonings still happening at unacceptable rate – WXMI (Fox) News
March 20, 2017
Many parents don’t store medicine safely – BabyCenter
March 16, 2017
Press Release: New Safe Kids Worldwide Research Uncovers Unsafe Practices and Shows Parents How to Protect Kids
November 15, 2016
How to Choose the Right OTC Pain Reliever This Cold and Flu Season –U.S. News & World Report
September 7, 2016
5 things you can do to choose the right type of OTC pain reliever for you –Houston Chronicle
September 1, 2016
First at Four Focus: Safety factors when choosing OTC pain relievers –WJRT (ABC) News
September 1, 2016
Key safety factors when picking over-the-counter pain relievers
–WTNH
September 1, 2016
Study: Many Americans Don't Consider Important Info When Choosing OTC Pain Relievers
–NTV (ABC) News
August 29, 2016
Press Release: 1 in 5 Americans do not consider any key safety factors when choosing
OTC pain relievers