CDC Message: Practice Safe Medicine Storage Habits While Preparing for This Fall and Winter Virus Season
Published December 2, 2024
During fall and winter, when many of us are preparing for the holidays, we are also preparing for viral infections that go around. This time of year is a good time to remember to keep all medicines up and away and out of reach and sight of young children. This includes putting vitamins and other supplements, including those in gummy form, up and away too. Each year approximately 35,000 young childrenare rushed to the emergency room because they got into medicines that were left within reach.
Keep young children safe! Parents, grandparents, and other caregivers can follow these tips to safely store medicines:
Store medicines in a safe location that is too high for young children to reach or see.
Never leave medicines or supplements out on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you must give the medicine again in a few hours.
Always relock the safety cap on a medicine bottle. If it has a locking cap that turns, twist it until you can’t twist anymore or until you hear the “click.”
Tell children what medicine is and why you or another trusted caregiver must be the one to give it to them.
Never tell children medicine is candy, even if they don’t like to take their medicine.
Remind houseguests, babysitters, and other visitors to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicines in them up and away and out of reach and sight when they’re in your home.
Call Poison Help at 800.222.1222 (or go to their website) right away if you think your child might have gotten into a medicine, vitamin, or other supplement, including those in gummy form, even if you are not completely sure.
For more medicine safety tips, visit the PROTECT Initiative’s up and away educational resources in English or Spanish.
Watch a short video on storing medicines up and away and out of sight and reach of children.
Get more Medication Safety news and updates by signing up for CDC emails here: Medication Safety News.
More Safety Articles
Do Your Vitamins Measure Up?
Consumers who use dietary supplements such as vitamins have no way of knowing if the products they select meet certain quality manufacturing standards. They also have no way of knowing if they are dealing with reputable manufacturers. In response, a drug standards organization called the US Pharmacopeia (USP) established The Dietary Supplement Verification Program (DSVP).
How Medicines in Creams, Ointments, Gels, Sprays, Lotions, and Patches Can Harm You
Creams, ointments, gels, sprays, lotions and patches are medicines that will enter your body by penetrating through the skin and entering the bloodstream. They can cause side effects if you use too much of the medicine.
Patients sometimes ask to take home left over medicines that were partially used during their hospital stay (e.g., insulin pens, inhalers, eye drops, topical creams or ointments). An example of this involved a diabetic man who was taking the long-acting insulin Lantus (insulin glargine) and also received the short-acting insulin NovoLog (insulin aspart) during his hospitalization.
.png)