Why Too Many Toddlers Get Into Pills
March 4, 2006 | First Aid and Safety
A local toddler had to be rushed to the emergency room after swallowing a prescription pill meant for someone else in the family. It’s an amazingly common occurrence that can be prevented.
Two-year-old Demario Thomas’ mother says he is intensely curious, smart and loves to learn. But that curiosity can get him into trouble, as she showed how he takes the top off a vitamin bottle.
A few days ago he opened a bottle of an older child’s ADHD prescription, with a nearly tragic result. He had to be rushed to Seattle’s Children’s Hospital after his mother called 9-1-1. His blood pressure and heart rate had dropped to dangerous levels.
“I never thought I would have to see that with my kid,” said his mother, April Brooks. “He just lay there, didn’t move. And he was very cold — just like kind of dead but not dead.”
Resources
Now a new government report shows how huge the problem is. An estimated 53,500 children, ages four and under, are treated in emergency rooms every year after swallowing medicines not intended for them.
At Children’s Hospital, emergency department Dr. Suzan Mazor said some pills are especially worrisome.
“The blood pressure medicines, antidepressants — some of them can be really dangerous — pain pills… we see a lot of problems with those in children,” she said.
Many pill boxes can give toddlers easy access to heart medications at an older relative’s house.
And remember: toddlers often can’t tell you how many pills they took.
“Keep tabs on how much medication you have, when you filled the prescription, how much you’ve taken,” Dr. Mazor said.
Demario’s mother was able to tell his doctors he had taken just one pill. Even so, he needed an overnight stay in intensive care.
“That’s the worst thing to go through,” she said. “Worrying about your child and not knowing if they’re going to be okay.”
Experts say if a child is awake and alert, always call the Washington Poison Center first. But if a child is unconscious, or anything seems worrisome to you, call 9-1-1.
The Washington Poison Center handled more than 16,000 calls last year about toddlers who accidentally got into medications.