Home Safety - Check Your Medicine Cabinet
Posted by Goody on 03/17/08 in Home and Family
Children have little sense of what is safe and unsafe, especially when it comes to understanding the dangers of medicine. It’s time to check your medicine cabinet for unused, unneeded, or expired prescriptions. Disposing of these items safely will ensure they keep out of the hand of young people. Following are household safety tips for keeping medicine out of reach of children:
- Remove the products from their original containers.
- Mix the medicine with used coffee grounds, cat litter, or other undesirable items to divert accidental ingestion by children or pets, or double-bag the medicine.
- Seal the mixture in nondescript containers, such as empty jars or sealable bags.
- Throw all containers in the trash.
- Return unused drugs to the pharmacy take-back locations for safe disposal.
- Store used medicine in a locked cabinet, out of sight and out of reach of children.
- Use child-resistance caps on all medicine containers.
- Keep medicine in its original container so they are not mistaken for something else.
- Take medicine with you if you’re called away before administering it, such as when you’re on the phone or if someone is at your front door. Don’t leave the container behind where your child could get a hold of it.
- Replace lids and return medicine to its proper storage place as soon as you’re done with it.
- Resist the urge to call medicine “candy” so your child will not intentionally seek it out.
- Keep purses, diaper bags, guests’ luggage, etc. out of your child’s reach if they contain medicine.
- Unpack medicine first from grocery bags before your child has a chance to investigate the contents of the bags.
Try crawling on your hands and knees to view things as your child does. This way, you can check to make sure medicine is out of reach according to your child’s perspective.
Hilary Basile is a writer for http://www.myguidesusa.com At MyGuidesUSA.com you will find valuable tips and resources for handling life’s major events. Whether you’re planning a wedding, buying your first home, anxiously awaiting the birth of a child, contending with a divorce, searching for a new job, or planning for your retirement, you’ll find answers to your questions at MyGuidesUSA.com.
Find parenting tips and resources at http://www.myguidesusa.com/becomingaparent
Tags: child, children, Medicine
tag this
Post a Comment