Medicines Safety
It is important to be attentive to keeping medicines safely stored away from children at all times. Each year, approximately 50,000 children younger than 6 years are brought to emergency departments after unintentionally taking medicine when a caregiver was not careful. Most (75%) of these exposures involve 1- or 2-year-old children.

Both prescription and over-the-counter medicines can help manage health conditions and relieve symptoms of illness. While generally safe when used as intended, medicines can have toxic effects if too much is taken or if unintentionally ingested by children. This risk also applies to supplements, vitamins, and herbal tonics that are among the many substances considered medicinal that might be unintentionally ingested by a child.

Preventing Unintended Medicine Exposures
Children stay safer form unintentional ingestions when adults both block access and teach the rules of medicine safety. Since the Poison Prevention Packing Act of 1970, child-resistant packaging (e.g., a child safety cap) is required for many household products, including medicines, that can be harmful to young children. However, remember that child-resistant packaging is not child-proof.

Ways to help prevent medication overdose among children

• Store all medicine in a place that a young child cannot reach. The safest home medicine storage for children combines: high placement, latched or better yet locked cabinets or closets, out‑of‑sight organization in a low-humidity location. Aim for “out of reach, locked up, dry, and out of sight.”
• Put medicines up and away after every use. Do not leave medicines on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you have to give the medicine again in a few hours. Keep them out of purses, backpacks and other places they may be carried for convenience.
• Make sure the safety cap is locked after every use. There are several different types of safety caps, so follow the instructions to relock completely.
• Keep medicines in child-resistant containers. It is safest to keep medicines in their original child-resistant containers, but if you have to transfer medicines to other containers, such as weekly pill organizers or travel bottles try to choose containers that are child-resistant. Unfortunately, most of these containers are not child safe.
• Keep medicines in child-resistant containers until it is time to take them. It may be tempting to leave the next dose of pills out as a reminder to give or take them, but medicines can look like candy to a young child. Instead, set a timer or reminder on your phone.
• Remind grandparents, friends, and other guests to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicines in them up and away and out of sight when they are in your home or when you are visiting their homes.
• Use medicines made for children, read the label every time, and follow the exact dose and timing your doctor or the label recommends.
• Use provided syringe, cup, or dropper and ml (milliliter) liquid measures for dispensing rather than kitchen teaspoons for liquid medicines to ensure proper dosage.
• Select single dose packaging such as blister pack when possible.
• Teach children about medicines. It is important to teach children what medicine is and why you or another caregiver must be the one to give it to them, using simple, age‑appropriate language.​
• Do not tell children that medicine is candy, even if they do not like to take their medicine.
• For older kids and teens, talk regularly about the risks of misusing prescription or over‑the‑counter medicines and that they must never share pills.​

What to Do if an Unintentional Medicine Exposure Happens
Call 911 right away if a child collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing, or cannot be awakened. If you find a child whom you suspect has ingested medicine, check their mouth, collect any medicines and medicine containers that the child might have gotten into, and call the national toll-free Poison Help Line (1-800-222-1222) to get advice from an expert at the nearest poison center. Keep the poison control number visible and saved in phones.

Medicines Safety
It is important to be attentive to keeping medicines safely stored away from children at all times. Each year, approximately 50,000 children younger than 6 years are brought to emergency departments after unintentionally taking medicine when a caregiver was not careful. Most (75%) of these exposures involve 1- or 2-year-old children.

Both prescription and over-the-counter medicines can help manage health conditions and relieve symptoms of illness. While generally safe when used as intended, medicines can have toxic effects if too much is taken or if unintentionally ingested by children. This risk also applies to supplements, vitamins, and herbal tonics that are among the many substances considered medicinal that might be unintentionally ingested by a child.

Preventing Unintended Medicine Exposures
Children stay safer form unintentional ingestions when adults both block access and teach the rules of medicine safety. Since the Poison Prevention Packing Act of 1970, child-resistant packaging (e.g., a child safety cap) is required for many household products, including medicines, that can be harmful to young children. However, remember that child-resistant packaging is not child-proof.

Ways to help prevent medication overdose among children

• Store all medicine in a place that a young child cannot reach. The safest home medicine storage for children combines: high placement, latched or better yet locked cabinets or closets, out‑of‑sight organization in a low-humidity location. Aim for “out of reach, locked up, dry, and out of sight.”
• Put medicines up and away after every use. Do not leave medicines on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you have to give the medicine again in a few hours. Keep them out of purses, backpacks and other places they may be carried for convenience.
• Make sure the safety cap is locked after every use. There are several different types of safety caps, so follow the instructions to relock completely.
• Keep medicines in child-resistant containers. It is safest to keep medicines in their original child-resistant containers, but if you have to transfer medicines to other containers, such as weekly pill organizers or travel bottles try to choose containers that are child-resistant. Unfortunately, most of these containers are not child safe.
• Keep medicines in child-resistant containers until it is time to take them. It may be tempting to leave the next dose of pills out as a reminder to give or take them, but medicines can look like candy to a young child. Instead, set a timer or reminder on your phone.
• Remind grandparents, friends, and other guests to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicines in them up and away and out of sight when they are in your home or when you are visiting their homes.
• Use medicines made for children, read the label every time, and follow the exact dose and timing your doctor or the label recommends.
• Use provided syringe, cup, or dropper and ml (milliliter) liquid measures for dispensing rather than kitchen teaspoons for liquid medicines to ensure proper dosage.
• Select single dose packaging such as blister pack when possible.
• Teach children about medicines. It is important to teach children what medicine is and why you or another caregiver must be the one to give it to them, using simple, age‑appropriate language.​
• Do not tell children that medicine is candy, even if they do not like to take their medicine.
• For older kids and teens, talk regularly about the risks of misusing prescription or over‑the‑counter medicines and that they must never share pills.​

What to Do if an Unintentional Medicine Exposure Happens
Call 911 right away if a child collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing, or cannot be awakened. If you find a child whom you suspect has ingested medicine, check their mouth, collect any medicines and medicine containers that the child might have gotten into, and call the national toll-free Poison Help Line (1-800-222-1222) to get advice from an expert at the nearest poison center. Keep the poison control number visible and saved in phones.

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