Small Number of Prescription Painkillers, Sedatives Top Culprits Behind Accidental Poisoning in Children

A government-backed study found that a small number of prescription drugs, particularly prescription painkillers and sedatives, were the leading causes behind accidental poisoning and emergency hospitalizations of children.

The study surveyed data from 2007 to 2011, and found that around 9,500 US children 6 years old and younger were hospitalized for accidental poisoning after finding family members’ prescription medications – especially prescription painkillers like Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin.

“Three-quarters of those children were just 1 or 2 years old,” said Dr. Daniel Budnitz, director of the medication safety program at the Centers for Disease Control.

Other culprits included anti-overdose medications, which should help prevent prescription painkiller overdoses, as well as sedatives like Ativan, Valium, and Xanax.

“Many of these drugs are commonly used, and they’re also toxic at low doses,” said Dr. Shan Yin, medical director of the Drug and Poison Information Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio. Yin was not involved in the study.

Although prescription painkillers are highly regulated by many states as well as federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, more people are diagnosed with chronic pain disorders from multiple sclerosis to cancer, and more people receive temporary prescriptions to treat pain after surgery. This means that prescription painkillers are readily available – a problem that has raised concern about opioid addiction, which is on the rise in the US, especially among the white middle class.

Because prescription painkillers, sedatives, and overdose prevention medications are more readily available, they become more available for children to ingest, leading to accidental poisoning. It does not take much medication to be too much for a young child.

Budnitz’s team found that one active ingredient in prescription painkillers, buprenorphine, topped the list for accidental poisoning hospitalizations in children. The narcotic accounted for as much as 8% of hospitalizations per year in the study – for every 100,000 people prescribed a drug with buprenorphine, 200 children were hospitalized for accidental poisoning. In contrast, for every 100,000 people prescribed Oxycontin, 2 children were hospitalized.

Many of these drugs, since the time of the study, have switched from bottles – which children can still easily open, even with child-proof caps – to blister packs.

“An advantage of blister packs is that an adult doesn’t have to remember to put the cap back on correctly,” Budnitz said. Generic forms of many of these medications are planning to offer blister packs rather than bottles.

“Child-resistant does not mean childproof,” Budnitz added. “You still need to keep medications up and away and out of sight.”

The Strom Law Firm Protects Against Prescription Painkiller Abuse Charges

Being arrested for prescription painkiller abuse is something that can be devastating financially and emotionally, and can have long-lasting personal and professional consequences. We understand what you are going through, and we are here to help. We will investigate your case from every angle, determine whether an illegal search took place and seek to have your charges reduced or even dismissed. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so call us today at 803.252.4800.