Misuse or unsafe storage of opioids and other prescription drugs can kill children
OVER 1,500 U . S . CHILDREN WERE ADMITTED TO E . R . FOR OPIOID OVERDOSE IN 2018 . 20 % of these admissions were for methadone overdoses . Children between the ages of 1 and 5 years were the second most-likely to be admitted for opioid overdose , accounting for over one-third of cases . Children across the country and in New Jersey have died or been seriously injured from accidental or deliberate exposure to medications that support recovery from opioid use disorders , such as methadone and buprenorphine , when :
• Unsupervised children ingest their parent ’ s prescription opioid medications that were not safely stored ;
• Parents deliberately administer their own prescription opioid medication to infants in an attempt to quiet their colic / crying or to suppress symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome ;
• Parents use a beverage container for liquid methadone , do not wash it following use of the medication , and a child uses the unwashed cup ; and
• Children rest on the body of someone wearing a fentanyl patch .
TAKE THESE STEPS TO PREVENT CHILD INJURY OR DEATH
• Tell every recipient of prescription opioid medications : “ This medication can kill a child .”
• Ask every recipient of opioid prescriptions whether there are children living in , or frequently visiting , their home .
• Ask your patient exactly where they store prescription drugs in the home . Strongly reinforce that medications need to be re-stored in a safe location after every use .
• Direct adult patients to never administer their own medication to anyone else , especially a child .
• Direct adult recipients of liquid methadone to follow all requirements for safe storage of take-home bottles , including use of a lockbox that is kept out of the reach of children .
• Distribute the attached safety tips to all adult patients receiving prescription methadone or buprenorphine .
INCORRECT OR ADULT DOSAGES OF ANY MEDICATION CAN BE TOXIC OR FATAL TO CHILDREN . Nationally :
• Approximately 60,000 emergency department ( ED ) visits result from unintentional medication overdoses among children under the age of 5 ;
• One out of every 150 two-year-olds is treated in an ED for an unintentional medication overdose ; and
• Over 90 % of ED visits for unintentional medication overdoses among children under the age of 5 involve children who get into medicine on their own without caregiver oversight .
Talk to your patients about these dangers when providing a prescription for ANY medication .
Tell patients to program the Poison Help line into their phones : ( 800 ) 222-1222 .
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