Medication Safe - Dr. Ben Tsutaoka

We received information from the American Association of Poison Control Centers in their Summer 2010 newsletter, Poison Line that the CDC is very concerned about unintentional ingestion of medications in children.

From the newsletter:

“In the fall of 2008, the CDC began the PROTECT initiative, an initiative aimed at addressing the issue of unsupervised, accidental ingestions of medications in children. The CDC first established an advisory board and convened at the CDC in Atlanta. Key representatives from industry, academia, professional organizations, patient advocacy and federal public health agencies were asked to describe the identified public health problem, prioritize interventions and to seek commitments towards efforts aimed at preventing unintentional overdoses of over-the counter children’s medications.

Among those invited to attend were representatives from groups including, but not limited to, the CDC, FDA, CPSC, AAP, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, American Pharmacists’ Association, Emory University, NY University, pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline and McNeill, as well as packaging companies.

The first action of business was to engage stakeholders on this public health issue and then identify and prioritize the top issues in preventing medication overdoses.

The group decided to work to reduce unsupervised ingestions; to reduce administration errors; to improve and focus caregiver education and to promote continued research on unanswered questions.

After that, four work groups were formed to effect concrete actions to address each of the four identified issues.

Group 1 was asked to develop industry guidance to facilitate packaging designed to limit the dose of unsupervised ingestions.

Group 2 was to address the standardization of dosing abbreviations for volumetric measurements.

Group 3 was to identify the key messages for the national education campaign.

Group 4 was to conduct risk factor/root cause analysis research of key unanswered questions.

To date, four Advisory Board meetings have been held along with work group conference calls throughout the 2-year process, all in advancement of the identified goals. Board members will meet again in the fall for a planned media event to roll out the PROTECT campaign.”

A recent report that accompanied the June 4th issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 2009, found that 1 in 5 teens has taken a prescription medication without a doctor’s order.

Abuse of a prescription drug was most common among white students (23 percent), followed by Hispanics (17.2 percent) and blacks (11.8 percent), according to Danice Eaton of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health in Atlanta, Ga., and colleagues. Improper use increased steadily from ninth grade (15.1 percent) to 12th grade (25.8 percent). Girls and boys were equally likely to abuse a prescription medication.

“We are very concerned that 20 percent of high school students are reporting this behavior,” said survey author Danice K. Eaton, a research scientist at the CDC. “It can be dangerous to take a prescription drug that hasn’t been prescribed to you.” Studies have shown that taking non-prescribed prescription drugs can lead to overdose, addiction and death, Eaton explained. “Taking a prescription drug that hasn’t been prescribed to you is a health risk behavior,” she said.

In the survey, 16,460 high school students were asked if they had ever taken prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin or Xanax, without a doctor’s prescription. This was the first year that questions about drug use were asked.

The full report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf.

Wow, in the span of just a few weeks, we’ve come across another product that is used to lock away medications.

This product is also called MedSafe and can be found here: www.helpsaveourkids.com. The company’s product information describes the product as: MedSafe is made of impact resistant polymer with a state of the art digital lock, so there are no keys for kids to find. No Need To Buy A New Medicine Cabinet. Attaches to most existing medicine cabinets. Can also be used in drawers, closet doors, night tables…

If you have used the product or know someone who has, we would love to hear what your thoughts about the product are. Please email us.

We were recently contacted by Axius Healthcare Security Solutions (www.axiushealth.com) about their product called the Med-Safe. It is described as a lightweight steel safe, which is portable and integrates state of the art fingerprint access technology. It appears to have several nice features. If anyone has used the product and can offer any reviews, we would love to hear from you.

More information about the product can be found here:

http://www.axiushealth.com/medsafe-products.html

http://www.familymedsafe.com/

This product has been renamed the Rx DrugSafe.

National Poison Prevention week is March 14-20, 2010.

More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to the 61 Poison Control Centers across the country. The majority of poisonings occur in the home and involve children younger than 6 years old.

National Poison Prevention Week was established by Congress in 1961 and designated as the third week in March to highlight the dangers of poisoning and how to prevent them.

Great poison prevention tips can be found from the American Academy of Pediatrics, located here: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/poisonpreventiontips.cfm

We’ve recently come across two very useful websites with great information for childproofing and poison proofing your home.

We’ve provided links to their websites.

Safe Kids USA for childproofing tips: http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-spotlight/childproofing-your-home/

Dr. Sandy for poison proofing tips: http://sandyzabanehblog.com/?p=382

Please email us if you come across any other useful websites.

As always we appreciate your help,

Dr. Ben

Medication safety is something we constantly think about at medicationsafe.com. Dr. Ben has been at the poison control center for 10 years and deals with poisonings in children, teenagers and adults daily. Finally, there is a product that can be used to lock up medications securely. It’s called the Rx Locker.

We first came across the product through the blog: http://3kidsandus.com/2010/rx-locker-keeping-kids-safe-from-prescription-drugs/.

The Rx Locker (www.RxLocker.com) from Locker Brand, Inc. (www.lockerbrand.com) is targeted toward parents of teenagers, concerned about the rising trend of prescription drug abuse. It’s endorsed by Dr. Drew Pinsky. A PR Newswire article can be found here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dr-drew-debuts-the-rx-locker-to-help-prescription-drug-abuse-among-teens-80888242.html.

We can envision many other uses for the Rx Locker. If you have one, please let us know how you like it and how you’re using it. Leave a comment or email us at info@medicationsafe.com.

Every year during the holidays, Poison Control Centers nationwide field numerous calls concerning ingestion of poinsettias and mistletoe. They just aren’t the killers that everyone thinks they are. The American Association of Poison Control Centers urges people to ”Treat Poinsettias and Mistletoe with Respect Rather Than Fear This Holiday Season”.

Poinsettias and mistletoe, while lovely symbols of the holiday season, have long been thought to be gravely poisonous.

But while ingesting these holiday plants can cause discomfort, data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers indicates they are not quite the deadly hazards they’ve long been believed to be.

The entire article can be found here: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/american-association-of-poison-control,1085047.shtml.

If you think your child has tasted, touched or breathed something harmful, call your local poison control center. Poison Control Centers nationwide are accessed by calling 1-800-222-1222.

The holidays are fast approaching and we encourage people to take a minute to think about preventing poisoning in their children. The holidays are a joyous time when family and friends gather together. It is also a time of year with an increased occurence of poisonings in children. While busily preparing for the holidays, children are more likely to be left unsupervised for a short amount of time. Visiting grandparents, family and friends with medications in their luggage or purse are frequent sources of a poisoning exposure in children. It takes only a short time for a child to get into medications but may lead to a lengthy visit to the Emergency Room.

A few tips to be especially mindful of during the holidays:

Store medications locked out of children’s sight and reach.

Tell grandparents, family and friends about avoiding medication poisoning when they visit or your family visits their homes.

For a great article with general tips about “Keeping kids safer around medicines, poisons” please go here: http://www.forteustiswheel.com/articles/2009/11/24/news/top_stories/top03.txt.

If you think your child has tasted, touched or breathed something harmful, call your local poison control center. Poison Control Centers nationwide are accessed by calling 1-800-222-1222.

Data analyzed from calls taken by the New York City Poison Control Center, provide yet more evidence that special attention needs to be taken to prevent poisonings. Medications, as the leading cause of childhood poisoning, are particularly concerning.

From the article:

In fact, poisoning is the third leading cause of hospitalizations for injury among children ages one to four. Each year, New York City’s Poison Control Center (PCC) receives approximately 4,000 calls reporting poisonings of children under the age of 15 serious enough to require referral to, or treatment by, a health care professional. An overwhelming 75% of these calls involve children younger than five.

These are among the findings of a new report by the New York City Health Department, “Unintentional Poisoning in New York City Children,” that analyzes PCC phone traffic from 2000 through 2007. Although many incidents of poisoning are managed at home, the new report focuses on child poisonings that require treatment at a health care facility.

“From prescription drugs to oven cleaner, common household products can be deadly in a child’s hands,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. “Even a relatively low dose of an otherwise harmless substance can cause serious injury. Storing household chemicals and medications where children can’t get to them, carefully following medication dose instructions, and storing all hazardous products in child-resistant containers are three ways parents can help protect their young children from potential poisoning.”

Medications are leading cause of childhood poisoning

Medications, including both prescription and non-prescription drugs, are the leading cause of poisoning in young children, accounting for nearly half of all PCC cases. Household cleaning products and pest control chemicals follow at 21%. The remaining poisoning calls received by the PCC usually involve cosmetics, vitamins and dietary supplements.

The full article can be found here:
http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/50/32831/most-unintentional-childhood-poisonings-occur-home.html