Most people consider their pets as part of the family. But just like you wouldn’t want to take another family member’s medicines by mistake, you don’t want to accidentally take your pet’s medicine either. Who would ever make that mistake? You’d be surprised how often it happens.
Our colleagues at ISMP in Canada heard from a consumer who reported that an elderly relative had accidently taken the family dog's deworming pills. Someone had placed the dog's pills on a bookcase. Later, the elderly relative moved the dog's pills to a bedside table, where other medicines were being stored. For several days the elderly relative then took the deworming pills, instead of a regularly prescribed medicine. The mistake was discovered when it was time to give the dog a dose of deworming medicine. The family member found the empty container on the bedside table and realized that the elderly relative had taken all of the dog's pills!
When the mistake was discovered, the elderly relative mentioned having felt sick for a few days earlier in the week, without knowing why. Fortunately, no serious harm occurred, but some pet medicines can be harmful if taken by humans.
Also, a person who takes a pet's medicine instead of the medicine that was prescribed will lose the benefit of taking the correct medicine. In a case reported to us, a father told his child’s babysitter to put his son's antibiotic ear drops in his right ear before bed, and the careful babysitter did just that. She found ear drops labelled "put two drops in right ear" in the medicine cabinet, and instilled the ear drops into the child's right ear. But the family's dog also had a bottle of ear drops for ear mites, which were the drops the babysitter used. The son's ear drops were in the refrigerator. Luckily, the child was not harmed by the dog's ear drops but he did miss an important treatment for his ear infection.
Here are a few tips to help prevent mix-ups with pets' medicines in your home:
- Keep in mind that many medicines intended for pets, whether obtained from your veterinarian’s office or the local community pharmacy, are dispensed in prescription vials that may look similar to vials used for human medicines.
- Mix-ups between pet's and children's medicines occur most often when they are stored together in the same place, such as a medicine cabinet. To prevent mix-ups, which could be serious, keep all pet medicines away from human medicines and food. Store them in a separate location from medicines intended for people.
- Keep all medicines out of the reach of children and adults who may become confused. It is best to use safety locks on any cabinets where medicines and hazardous products are stored.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) Educational Foundation launched UP and Away and Out of Sight to provide tools to remind everyone of the importance of safe medication storage and keeping medicines and vitamins “Up and Away” and out of every child’s reach and sight. It’s worthwhile taking a few minutes to review this material.
- Whenever you receive a medicine for your pet, check to be sure it is safely packaged. For example, is the pet medicine in a child-proof container? Is the container clearly labeled "For veterinary use only"? If not, ask your veterinarian or pharmacist to change the packaging to reduce the chance of a mix-up or at least mark the container in some way. Make sure the container looks different from human medicine.
Administering medicines to children is a job that requires some basic knowledge. If you must ask your babysitter or someone else to give medicine to your child, be sure to show them where the medicine is, how much to give, and how to give it. Never assume they will know what to do without your explicit instructions.
Incidentally, medicines intended for humans can also be harmful for pets. Talk to your veterinarian before giving your pet any medicine.
There are more than 600 different prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines that contain acetaminophen (Tylenol). The drug is often found in pain relievers, fever reducers, and sleep aids as well as cough, cold, and allergy medicines. These medicines are safe and effective when used as directed. However, severe liver damage can occur from taking too much acetaminophen (if you continue to take more than 3,000 to 4,000 mg per day). In most cases, this can happen if you take more than the prescribed or recommended dose of acetaminophen or if you take more than one product containing acetaminophen.
Infants who are breastfed or partially breastfed should receive a daily supplement of vitamin D starting in the first few days of life. Breast milk has only 25 units of vitamin D per liter (that’s roughly a quart or about 32 ounces). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a daily dose of 400 units of vitamin D for infants. Infants who drink less than a liter of formula also may need a lower dose of a vitamin D supplement. Although formula is fortified with vitamin D, enough may not be consumed each day to get the total recommended dose of 400 units.
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is a national leader in vaccine education for both healthcare professionals and the public. Recently, IAC announced a new and improved website to help the public get the information they need about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. Visit www.vaccineinformation.org for reliable information on vaccines and their importance.
We received a report about patients purchasing a non-FDA approved drug product that was claiming to be a generic for a US product. Careprost (bimatoprost 0.03%) was found to be on www.amazon.com as a generic to Latisse (bimatoprost 0.03%)! Upon calling Allergan, the manufacturer of Latisse, they indicated that there is no FDA approved generic product available in the US. Our organization informed the FDA. Although you may not be able to purchase Careprost through Amazon anymore, there are other websites that can be found selling this product. As a reminder, always use caution when purchasing products on the internet. Products which are approved for use in the United States can be located here.
Acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol) is well known to consumers as an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever and fever reducer. Acetaminophen is an ingredient also found in many OTC and prescription medicines for both adults and children.
Easy, legal access to inexpensive over-the-counter (OTC) medicines has contributed to widespread abuse of them. And because a doctor’s prescription is not needed, many mistakenly believe that OTC medicines are safer than prescription medicines and illegal street drugs. But even OTC medicines—including herbals—can cause serious and potentially fatal side effects when abused.
Sixth grade marks the start of middle school for many American 11-year-olds. Research also indicates that it is the age that children begin to self-medicate. With that in mind, Scholastic and the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) have launched OTC Literacy, an educational campaign to raise awareness about over-the-counter medicine safety. The program is tailored to 6th graders and emphasizes that while OTC medicines are safe when used properly, it is critical to consult a parent or guardian before taking any medication.
Many of us are familiar with Vicks over-the-counter (OTC) cold and flu medicines DayQuil and NyQuil. In fact, the VICKS brand is one of the most well recognized names associated with cold and flu medicines (see figure 1).
A woman reported an error to us after her child’s doctor sent a prescription to a community pharmacy for her 11-year-old daughter. The prescription was for the laxative Miralax powder (polyethylene glycol 3350). The woman was instructed to give her daughter 3 TEAspoonfuls by mouth mixed with 6 ounces of liquid. This was to be taken once a day for 30 days.
