potential for poison ingestion. Remind them to put all medications or cannabis away.
How to dispose of old and unused meds
If pills have expired, dispose of them responsibly.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a primer on safely getting rid of unused meds. The best way with most is to take them to the pharmacy or designated take-back site. Some meds can be placed in the household trash and a few can be flushed down the toilet, Arbogast says. The FDA has a list of those.
READ: Safety Lessons Every Parent Should Teach Their Child
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What to do if you suspect your child consumed something poisonous
Keep the poison control number (800-222-1222) handy. Call it immediately if you suspect your child has swallowed something poisonous. Don’t wait for an adverse reaction to confirm it, because reactions vary by the toxin consumed.
“Some may cause vomiting; some may cause lethargy where the kid is kind of non-responsive; some might cause a stomach illness,” Arbogast shares. “If you think they ingested edibles, that’s not going to have the same kind of reaction as prescription medication. We can’t say, ‘If they look like this, do this.'”
Poison Control can help you determine the next steps.
“This pandemic is not behind us yet, and families are still trying to figure out what normal is,” Arbogast says. “So, it’s time for us to think about having our children in new environments. We just want them to be thinking about their child’s safety at every destination.”
