Now when we go to someone’s house I will ask if they have medication in a place that children can get to it. And when someone comes to my house I will ask them to put their purse up on a shelf above the fireplace – just in case there is something in it. Kids are just too fast and we can do the best we can teaching them what to stay away from and watching them. Even so, it is too risky to trust that the house you are at or the purse someone sets on your floor are safe for your children.
Monday, February 27, 2012
My Son the Hero
At my parents’ house this weekend we tucked our three-year-old in bed and went downstairs. My parents have done a good job at childproofing their house and our kids are good about not getting into stuff. About 10 minutes after we tucked the kids in, my five-year-old son came running down the stairs and yelling “Mom! Jane is eating pills!!!” I tore up the stairs and to my horror there was a bottle of my mom’s thyroid medication (which we were told tastes like pez) all over the floor in their bedroom. My mom looks at it in dismay and said, “That bottle was full!” After counting we realize that 20 pills are gone. 911 was called and Jane was taken by ambulance to the hospital. This was the scariest night in my life. After searching we found more pills and she more likely ate about 5-7. Not a fatal dose, thanks to my son. She was fine and since this was like taking speed, she was bouncing off the walls all night. This got me thinking of all the play dates and relatives houses we have been to. How many had left a prescription on the counter in their bathroom? How many times has someone come to my house and set their purse next to my couch as it contained medicine like this or even “just” Tylenol?
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Sometimes, elderly people are simply forgetful, clumsy, or careless. Not meaning that in a bad or mean way, but they simply reach an age where they are like children again and we have to watch them carefully. My parents had company at their house over the holidays one of which was a very elderly woman. She was trying to get her pills and spilled quite a few on the floor. They tried to find all the pills, but my kids have better eyesight and found at least eight blood pressure pills strewn about the house. Luckily, none of them were eaten and the older ones were eager to hunt down the missing pills so the little ones couldn't get them. I think too, they forget how easily kids get into things. My parents and grandparents have pill bottles all over their countertops, thinking it's out of a child's reach. They've forgotten that nothing is ever out of child's reach.
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