Jaguars Cub Club Newsletter Cub Club Newsletter April 2017 | Page 17

Spring 2017
B
ut too often, what children want to put in
their mouths may be harmful. An object may
be small enough to make them choke or can
be toxic if they swallow it. When it comes to medicines,
keeping them out of reach is a must, not just at home,
but wherever little ones visit, including Grandma and
Grandpa’s house or the home of their caregivers.
“Medications are the leading cause of poisoning in
children,” said Cynthia Dennis, RN, coordinator of Safe
Kids Northeast Florida, led by THE PLAYERS Center for
Child Health at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. “About
60,000 kids are seen in emergency rooms annually for
medicine poisoning, which is one every nine minutes.
Of those visits, 86 percent were caused by a child
getting into medicines during a moment alone.”
Keeping medicine out of sight is the top thing you
can do to keep your kids safe, Dennis said. Consider
where you store most of your medications: Are they
in the bathroom cabinet or drawer? How about your
nightstand? What about that bottle of pills in your
purse or in a visitor’s handbag?
And don’t forget all of those items we don’t consider to
be medicines that can be equally harmful to children,
she added. “Vitamins, diaper rash creams, eye drops
and hand sanitizer can also be dangerous to children if
ingested.”
“About 60,000 kids are seen in
emergency rooms annually for
medicine poisoning, which is
ONE every nine minutes.”
Medicine doesn’t have to be sugarcoated or colorful
to be attractive to a small child, but colors and
textures can make medications even more appealing.
To a 5-year-old, pills look like candy and the window-
cleaning spray sitting on your kitchen table looks a
lot like the blue sports drink Dad drinks after playing
tennis.
Cub Club Quarterly
17