Flu season can lead to higher risk of accidental medication overdose in kids
EL PASO, Texas -- Flu season is in full swing, and that means using more medicine to fight back against getting sick. However, the practice, if done incorrectly, can lead to more risk for kids accidentally ingesting medicine they don't need.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that roughly 60,000 children under age five are sent to the emergency room each year after accidentally overdosing on medication.
The Up and Away and Out of Sight campaign, an initiative from the CDC, hopes to prevent these overdoses by happening. The campaign reminds parents these overdoses can occur from medicine intended for adults, and from medicine intended for children.
Sugey Huerta, who is involved with the campaign, had a scare with her son, who took a second dose of his medicine, already prepared on the counter.
"It could happen to anyone whose watching the kids. A lot of the times we don't realize that we are leaving medicine in the reach of the children," Huerta said.
Campaign officials say it is important to keep the poison control center phone number on hand, which is what helped Huerta understand what happened to her son. They also recommend only filling one dose at a time, and keeping medicine hidden where kids can't find it. Most importantly, educate children about what medicine is and how it should be used.
