Q: How do I protect my children from harmful medications?

A: Curious children can find potentially harmful medications in sometimes overlooked places: a visitor’s purse set on the floor; the counter tops in grandma’s house; or an unlocked medicine cabinet. Parents and caretakers must be vigilant to patrol any new setting or situation for possible danger. Vitamin and fluoride pills can be just as perilous as prescription and non-prescription medicine.

Here are some safety tips:

• Make sure prescription medicines come with childproof caps. 
  
• Store medications out of the reach of children, and if possible, locked away. The medicine cabinet may not be the ideal place to store medicines, especially if your bathroom is moist most of the time. The best environment to keep medicines is cool and dry. Also, keep the medicines in the air-tight containers in which they are dispensed; exposure to air, moisture or heat can all affect the potency of the drugs.
  
• Don’t reuse antibiotics.  You should never have leftover antibiotics because you should ALWAYS give your child all the doses prescribed by your doctor.  Not doing so may result in bacterial resistance and re-infection.  Giving your child antibiotics before seeing the doctor may also prevent us from performing certain tests (i.e. Strep test!!!) and can make it difficult to treat your child properly! 
  
• Antibiotics are not useful in treating viral infections!!!!  Please do not use them inappropriately, or ask the doctor to prescribe them just because you want "something" to fix the illness.  Antibiotic resistance is here, and we need to be aware of it!
  
• When considering over-the-counter medications for your child, be sure to consult your physician if the child is under 2 years old. (Also check our dosing guidelines page.)
  
• In general, ask a pharmacist or your doctor which over-the-counter products are safe for your child, especially if he/she has a chronic medical condition or is taking other medication.
  
• Giving children too much pain/fever medication such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, etc) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, Tempra) can lead to liver or kidney failure. Be sure to discuss appropriate dosages with your doctor or pharmacist. In some cases it is okay to alternate these medicines, but less is more when it comes to medication and children! Also, never give children aspirin because it can cause Reye’s syndrome—a neurologic condition associated with the use of aspirin with a viral illness.
  
• When using liquid medicines, use a dropper or medicine-measuring spoon so that the dosage is correct; household teaspoons can vary in size from 3 to 9 cc.
  
• Don’t use other people’s prescription medicine.  EVER!
  
• Throw out medicines after the expiration date. After its expiration date, the drug’s potency may decrease, causing the medication to be less effective, or in rare occasions, dangerous. Medications in liquid form often lose their effectiveness quickly.
  
• Keep handy the telephone numbers of the poison control center and your child’s doctor.

If a child does get into any medications, call the poison control center immediately and tell them exactly what was ingested (this also applies to plants and household chemicals).

Daisy Vinzon, M.D. is a board-certified pediatrician and an assistant professor at the UCLA Children’s Hospital. Her office is at the UCLA Medical Group. This article was reviewed and edited by physicians at Springs Pediatrics to suit our patient population.