Please be careful with your medications.

Some friends of ours are at the Children's Hospital right now as their two year old son ingested a large amount of Synthroid,
we're praying he will be alright, he was admitted yesterday and later sent home and they were told to watch for certain symptoms.
Well he was back at 2 a.m. this morning and they have admitted him.

Just thought I'd remind us all to be really careful with our drugs, especially if we have kids and grandkids at our home, it's easy to get
a little careless at times until something like this happens, so I thought I'd post this here as a reminder

Hope is going to be ok Ruth. Yes, we can never be too careful. Mine are out of reach, but always worth being mindful

P

Yeah I was thinking about that after I just got my prescription for stadol and my pharmacist broke the child safety device on the container it comes in. I always keep them away from my daughter but you can never be too careful. Next pay period I am going try to order a lockable medication box. (funds are especially tight since my husbands hours have been cut. He is only working 3 days a week, but this is an extremely important matter.) I have seen a few on amazon but I haven't made my mind up on which one I want to order. I like this one. What do you guys think?

I currently get stadol, 2 vials a month (if my pharmacist actually learns how to read a prescription right LOL) fioricet with codeine, topamax, relpax, and methylprednisolone. The only ones that are truly childproof are the fioricet with codeine and topamax, so I really have to worry about the others since if she got ahold of them she could easily chew through the packaging. Do you think all my meds would fit in this, including the cache if I build it up? (I'm new to meds so eventually I'll get a cache but I don't have a problem keeping them in a ziplock instead to save space)

Even if you don't think your child, grandchild, neighbor, etc., might be visiting, it's still important to keep the meds stored safely out of reach. You never know when someone will visit with small children.

For that matter, it also applies to pets. When my dog is unhappy with me, and if I fail to put my purse up and keep it zipped securely, she will get into my purse and pull something out and chew it up (if I've been gone for a couple days--that's when she gets most unhappy with me). She did this with one of my prescription bottles one time. Luckily, I found her just in time. She just about had the lid chewed off (it was tramadol).

Another time, my mother was visiting. This was in the early stages of her Alzheimer's. She had taken some ibuprofen but had dropped the bottle and spilled some of the pills. She did not find all of the pills. Later that day my dog (she was a few months old then--just a puppy) was acting lethargic and couldn't stay awake. My mom finally remembered what she had done. When I crawled around on the floor in the guest bedroom. I found a couple pills. I don't know to this day how many pills my puppy ingested, but it scared me. The point is one needs to be on the alert for meds used by visitors to your home as well.

Becky

Rut h,

I hope your friend's so will be OK. Sending good thoughts his way. Thanks for the safety reminder. It's sad but true that a few moments of carelessness can cause unintended consequences that can last I lifetime. Safety first!

Chris

Thanks for this very important post. I am ashamed to say I am AWFUL. My meds are all well within reach of kids.

I am going to make a point monday to change that!

Jeez how inconciderate I am. I'm so sorry for your friends child, and I'm sorry I blew right past that without mention when I posted in my original response. Thanks for the reminder, it is very important.

I hope your friend's child will pull out of it without any lasting damage, kids are amazingly resistant and they have wonderful recovering ability.

My advice to all those who have any meds is this:

go to the Office Depot or the like store, and buy a SAFETY BOX:



It's for documents really but it's perfect for meds, too. Hang the keys somewhere out of reach for the kids.
This way you keep the dangerous stuff safely stored, and the small amounts can be always kept at hand.
Refill as needed.
May I suggest buy the biggest one and store the vitamins there too as for example too much Iron CAN kill a little child or at least damage its kidney.

Risa

I do the same Risa. I have one downstairs in the kitchen and one upstairs in our bedroom for medications. Actually I think I picked up the boxes at WalMart. I just hang the key out of sight and up high. The kids have never seen me retrieve the key so they don't know where it is for either box. I am soooo afraid that they will get into those medications. Thanks for the reminder Ruth and I hope your friends little one is OK. Scarey.

Jo

Oh really, another user of those

You know, these keys are really small.
One can even put them on a really long silver chain, long enough to be put on (and off) like a regular chain,
but without using the clasp, just over the head, and thus keeping it with you at all times. Under your clothes so nobody asks any QQQ.

Risa

Good ideas, Risa and Jo. Thanks!

Becky

Thanks all, little Benjamin isn't doing too bad, they are still monitoring his heart which has been racing, but it's beating slower now, he has his
ups and downs and still gets a fever on and off. I licked my synthroid pill this morning and no wonder he ate so many, they are really sweet, not
sure why they have to make them taste so good! I don't know whether it was his mum's or his grandmother's pills but it was a hard lesson learned,
and it's made my put my pills a little more out of reach!

I've noticed they have made tylenol and ibuprofen taste super sweet, just like candy. It makes me nervous for not only my baby but my pets too! I love that my topamax tastes like death, as does my stadol. Unfortunately my Fioricet doesn't taste much like anything.

I'm so happy to hear that Benjamin is doing a bit better. I hope he continues on that path and his heart rate steadies out. I hate that this happened but like you said, it is good that we are all aware and hopefully it will remind us all keep our medications out of reach from the children, pets and visitors in our lives.

I will continue to think of your friends and wish for a speedy recovery for Benjamin. No child should spend too much time in a hospital, regardless of the reason. It breaks my heart...

Poor lil guy. And those parents must feel awful. Those tiny hospital beds are so sad to see And lil IV ports and bags I remember when Austin was 1 he needed IV fluids in the ER bcof the flu and it was sooooo sad!!

I will keep Benjamin and his family in my thoughts!

Real glad to read that Benjamin is doing OK. Worried about the poor little guy. Now I worry for the parents ... what regrets and guilt they must feel! Please tell them from me that sometimes in this lifetime, ACCIDENTS happen. We all learn best from our mistakes and move on. Remember that loving is the goal. Those parents are showing a great deal of love and care for their boy. I for one am proud of them for their close attention to him and for getting him medical care at 2:00 AM. Well done, parents! Please pass on my thoughts to them both. Thanks.

Thanks again, and Richard I will pass that on, thankyou! Benjamin is now home but it will take over a week for the medication to leave his
system and they are hoping it doesn't have any long lasting effects. I'm sure his mother does feel bad, especially as she's a nurse!
It's been such a hard time for her and hubby as their third child is due in just over a week! But they are the sweetest people and I
know they love their children dearly.