Leading Cause of Child Poisonings: Medication

A recent Government report states that the foremost source of poisonings among American children can be located in the household medicine cabinet.

Research has revealed that more than 71,000 American children aged 18 and under, are seen yearly in emergency departments for the ministration of unintended over-the-counter, prescription overdoses.

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that this equates to over two-thirds of emergency department visits are experienced as a result of prescription and over-the-counter medication contamination.   This is over double the rate of child poisonings caused by cleaning products and plants.

Director of CDC’s Medication Safety Program, Dr. Budnitz informs “medication overdoses are most common among 2-year-olds … about one in every 180 2-year-olds visits an emergency department for a medication overdose each year.”

More than 80 percent is caused by unsupervised ingestion. 14 percent is a result of medication errors and misuse.  According to Budnetz, the most common medications taken unintentionally by children are acetaminophen, opioids or benzodiazepines, cough and cold medicines, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antidepressants.