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 Research suggests so-called tweens begin to self-administer
over-the-counter (OTC) medicines during the fifth or sixth grade,
experts say.
In 2012, U.S. poison centers managed nearly 300,000 exposure cases
in children aged six to 19; more than half these cases involved
medication errors and misuse. Each year, some 10,000 emergency
center visits involving individuals younger than 18 are caused by
adolescents self-administering OTC medicines, according to the
American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).
OTC Literacy, a project from the AAPCC and Scholastic Corporation,
with support from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, commissioned two
surveys to better understand the level of medicine safety awareness
among U.S. youth and their parents.
OTC Literacy provides resources and educational materials specially
designed to help parents and teachers teach tweens - that is, kids
ages 10 to 12 - about medicine safety and the dangers of abuse
(http://www.scholastic.com/OTCliteracy/parents/).
The survey of 1,100 tweens found that only about half of them knew
OTC medicines could be dangerous if misused. Asked about the
differences between prescription and OTC medicines, only 56 percent
of them answered questions correctly.
When tested on how to read a drug facts label correctly, tweens only
answered 53 percent of questions correctly.
And a survey of 600 parents found they often overestimated their
kids' knowledge of OTC medicine, such as the risks associated with
not taking medicines as directed or combining multiple drugs at
once. Most parents believed their children knew who to ask if they
had questions concerning OTC medicines.
“This is a really serious issue that may have life-threatening
results for kids and tweens. I see this in my office every day,” Dr.
Tanya Altmann, a pediatrician in Westlake Village, California, told
Reuters Health. “In many cases, medications are left on counters for
convenience or when somebody is sick, and tweens think they can take
it if they have a headache or something.”
Altmann recommends that parents teach their children about active
ingredients and store medications and cough syrups out of reach.
Altmann said parents should immediately call the poison control
hotline if they discover their child accidentally overdoses. Ipecac,
a syrup sometimes used to encourage vomiting soon after poisoning,
is not the best remedy for treating an overdose, she cautioned.
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“Ipecac is not recommended in the U.S. anymore, because sometimes
things can cause more damage when coming up. The American Academy of
Pediatrics does not recommend parents use it,” she said. “The poison
control number should be saved in every cell phone. They really know
everything about every medication and give good advice."
The American Association of Poison Control Centers can be reached at
1-800-222-1222.
Nicole Vesely, Safe Kids Coordinator with University of
Wisconsin-Madison’s American Family Children’s Hospital, said she
believes some accidental overdoses could be avoided if parents teach
their children to always use the dosing device that comes with most
cough syrups and liquid medicines.
“Parents don’t always use the dosing device that comes with
medicine, so if they use a different measuring device, like a
teaspoon, it can lead to accidental overdose,” she told Reuters
Health. “I think many parents have a mindset that prescription drugs
are much more dangerous than over-the-counter drugs, because they
can be purchased whenever they want. But they have a lot of the same
dangers."
Michael S. Wolf, a professor of medicine at Northwestern
University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said he
believes many teens and some adults are confused by the small
writing and packaging on most OTC drugs. He said the new surveys are
not surprising, but will serve as a reminder of the need for more
education about personal health for teens.
“Do they understand the difference between Advil and Tylenol? Do
they know how to navigate a drug box? We haven’t found a place or
time to talk to tweens about these things, and we’re confined to
very small packaging with very small fonts,” he told Reuters Health.
“It’s a very interesting age to be focusing on, the tweens, because
this is a population that is transitioning to accept more
responsibilities and take control over their own health.”
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