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| Oops! A member of the NNEPC team came home to find this scene while their spouse was giving medicine to one of the kids. |
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| That’s better! For safety, put the cap back on your medication bottle as soon as possible. |
Where do you store your medication?
If you answered up high and out of children’s reach, congratulations! You are off to a great start with medication safety.
But what do you do with medication while you are using it?
The NNEPC receives many calls about young children who get into medication that has just been used, but left out, often with the cap off. A study from Safe Kids looking at poison center calls and emergency department visits also found that this is a common scenario.
To help keep children from getting into medication, always put the cap back on as soon as you are finished with the medication, and put it away, up high and out of reach, as soon as possible.
If a child does get into medication, call the poison center at 1-800-222-1222 or chat online. Most of these cases can be safely managed with fast, expert help from the poison center, helping you avoid a visit to the emergency room.
