Do you know the risks of medication and young children?
Most medicine involved in accidental child poisoning belongs to parents and grandparents, and comes from handbags, purses and wallets; tables and nightstands; or from pill boxes.
Every two hours an Australian child is treated in emergency for medicine poisoning - that's 4500 every year. (In the US that figure is 59,000 young children.)
About 20,000 calls are made to poisons help lines annually concerning accidental medication poisoning in children aged 4 years and younger.
Medication is the most common cause of poisoning in children aged 4 years and younger, and one of the most common causes of injury requiring hospitalisation, with about 1000 hospitalised every year.
Paracetamol- and ibuprofen-containing medicines are the most commonly implicated medications
Some medicines and other chemicals and items can be toxic in young children if ingested in even small quantities: paracetamol (concentrated) liquid; paracetamol tablets; ibuprofen tablets; hand sanitiser; antidepressants, such as tricyclic antidepressants; heart medication; diabetes medication; strong pain medication containing opiates; iron tablets; antihypertensives (blood pressure medication); eucalyptus oil; camphor rubs; button batteries.
US research shows that in cases involving young children taking medication, the majority of medicine belongs to parents and grandparents, and in more than half of the cases the medicine comes from handbags, purses and wallets; tables and nightstands; or out of pill boxes.
No medication packaging is child-proof - which is why we invented Juno ChildSafe. Child-resistant packing is used on some, but not all, medications. In Australia blister packs are not required to be child resistant.
Safety tests show toddlers given access to tablets in standard blister packs are able to unpack up to 85 tablets in less than 10 minutes.
Juno ChildSafe offers childproofing on the go - for any situation. Juno ChildSafe is available to buy in 3 convenient sizes.
Protect the ones you love - keeping children safe around medicines
Medicine and other products such as vitamins, eye drops, camphor rubs, hand sanitiser and nappy rash cream can be dangerous for children when misused or accidently ingested
Store safely
• Up and away and out of sight
• In original packaging
• In cupboards with child-resistant locks at least 1.5m from the ground
• Consider places where children may get into medicine, eg, purses, bedside tables and bench tops
• Buy child-resistant packaging when available and close caps tightly after each use
• Be alert to visitors’ medication, particularly grandparents’
• Be alert to medicine in places your child visits
• Don’t leave medicine out as a reminder to take it – use an alarm or note
Dispose of medicine safely
• Clean out unused or expired medication and take to your local pharmacy for disposal
Contact the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for further information. Put this number in your contacts and display at home in a prominent place
This information has been sourced from The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and Safe Kids Worldwide
Further information can be found at NPS MedicineWise website
Tried and tested – meeting international safety standards
Before going to market with Juno ChildSafe, it was very important to us that our bags did exactly as promised, that is, they were resistant to opening by children, while being accessible to adults.
As you may be aware, many products sold here and overseas are required by law to comply with particular safety standards, such as cots and car seats.
There is currently no such legal requirement for Juno ChildSafe. However, we chose to spend the time and money to do for our own, as well as your, peace of mind.
To do this, we put the bags through rigorous, independent testing to international and Australian safety standards. We tested to international safety standard ISO 8317:2003 for reclosable, child-resistant packaging, and the Australian equivalent 1928:2007.
The testing was conducted by Best Practice Consultants of East Gosford NSW between November 2014 and January 2105.
Both children and adults were tested.
The children were aged between 42 months and 51 months. They were tested in pairs in a number of child care centres.
Every child was presented with a new, unused bag and given a trial of five minutes, with the request to open the bag and gain access to the contents. The children then watched a bag being opened and reclosed by a supervisor, and asked to try again for a period of five minutes.
Adults test participants were aged between 50 and 70 years inclusive. Each person was given a bag, along with written instructions on how to open and reclose it properly. No demonstration or assistance was offered by the tester. They were then allowed five minutes in which to properly open and reclose the bag.
And Juno ChildSafe passed first time!
Designing a lock that manages to walk the fine line between being too difficult for young children to open, while being easy enough for older adults, was not an easy task. But we’ve now got it – and we are excited to share it with you and your family.
Click to view Certificate of Compliance
Expert endorsement
NPS Medicinewise is an independent, non-profit, evidence-based Australian organisation that works with peak health organisations and government to provide guidance and direction on the safe and wise use of medicines and health technologies to improve health outcomes and ensure cost of care remains affordable. We are so proud to have their support!
First aid
Call Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26 from anywhere in Australia.
The Poisons Information Centre offers free advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If the poison is SWALLOWED
• Do NOT try to make the patient vomit. Do NOT use Ipecac Syrup.
• Take the container to the telephone.
• Call the Poisons Information Centre
If the poison is INHALED
• Get the child to fresh air, without placing yourself at risk.
• Open doors and windows wide if it is safe to do so.
• Call the Poisons Information Centre
Poison in the EYE
• Wash the eye with water from a cup, jug or slowly running tap. Continue for 10-15 minutes, holding the eyelids open.
• Call the Poisons Information Centre
Poison on the SKIN
• Remove contaminated clothing, taking care to avoid contact with the poison.
• Wash the skin with lots of cool running water.
• Call the Poisons Information Centre
Information sourced from The Sydney Children’s Hospital Network