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are your kids using the drugs in your medicine cabinet?

medication is the leading cause of poisoning in children and poisoning is the third leading cause of unintentional hospitalization of children aged 14 and under.

by maja begovic

oct 4 2022

4 minute read

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medication should be locked up, out of sight

having unrestricted access to the medicine cabinet at home may seriously harm a young child, and it may also make it easier for teens to experiment with prescription drugs. getty

it estimated that 4,000 canadians die every year from poisoning. the latest available data suggests that more than a third of calls received by poison centers across canada were related to children, and yet, in a recent survey by the health product stewardship association (hpsa) conducted in partnership with drug free kids (dfk) canada, 70 per cent of parents admit to leaving their medications accessible to their children — a mistake that experts say can leave families more vulnerable to accidental poisoning and tragic accidents.

“medication is the leading cause of poisoning in children and poisoning is the third leading cause of unintentional hospitalization of children aged 14 and under,” says chantal vallerand, executive director of dfk canada. “medications at home should be properly stored and safely disposed.”

drugs in medicine cabinets have become party drugs

having unrestricted access to the medicine cabinet at home may seriously harm a young child, and it may also make it easier for teens to experiment with prescription drugs. in recent years, teens have turned to cough and cold medicine to get high, and in some parts of the country, prescription drugs that are found in most home medicine cabinets have become one of the fastest growing party drugs.

in ontario, roughly 11 per cent of high school students have admitted to recreationally using medicine that was not prescribed to them and about half of them revealed that they found the drugs in their home medicine cabinet. vallerand suggests that teens may be using the medication as a coping mechanism for anxiety, stress or shyness and says that this cohort may be more likely to engage in risky behaviour as their prefrontal cortex — part of the brain that is responsible for decision-making, moral judgement, social interactions and self-control — is not yet fully developed.

according to vallerand, it is never too early to start having age-appropriate conversations about the dangers of misuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. in fact, she says kids as young as three years old can be made aware that an antibiotic or a vitamin isn’t safe unless it is used as directed. introducing the notion that medicine, when taken by a wrong person or at the wrong time can lead to accidental poisoning, can help children be aware of the dangers of misuse as they get older.

as for teens, she says having regular conversations about drugs “using empirical evidence and facts” can help them better understand the potential risks, especially as some teens falsely believe that taking a pill to get high is safer because it is made in a pharmaceutical facility and prescribed by a doctor.

what are the clues your kid is experimenting with drugs?

according to vallerand, plummeting grades, being withdrawn and losing interest in activities may suggest that an adolescent could be experimenting with drugs, at which point, she advises parents to initiate a conversation — one that comes from a place of love and concern, and not judgement.

“it’s not a matter of confronting or lecturing but supporting your teens,” she says. “and if your sense is telling you that something is wrong, turn to your pediatrician and seek help.”

to help prevent accidental poisoning and misuse, experts recommend parents take regular inventory of what’s inside their medicine cabinet, check expiry dates and keep medications in child-resistant packaging, locked up out of sight and out of reach of children and teens. any unwanted or unused medication can be safely disposed of through a take-back program that is available at no cost, and not tossed in the garbage — something that four in ten canadian parents also admit to doing in the survey.

“any amount of pharmaceutical waste in high enough concentrations impacts our fresh water supply,” says terri drover, director-general at hpsa, which in turn affects aquatic life and human health.

drover explains that medication that ends up in the landfill also makes its way into the water system and she says that studies have already shown that exposure can negatively impact the behaviour and reproductive health of fish. additional research suggests that pharmaceutical residue can also adversely impact human health and lead to antibiotic resistance and endocrine disruption, which interferes with reproduction, normal functioning of the immune and nervous systems, and increases cancer risk.

and while some parents don’t think twice about tossing unwanted medication in the garbage, 87 per cent of teens reveal that they care about the environment. drover believes that continued awareness and education can help change consumer behaviour, and that parents may leverage environmental sustainability to further reinforce the facts around safe use and disposal of medication with their teens.

she says that in an ideal world, people would finish their prescribed medication, but if that is not possible — if there is a an adverse reaction, if the medication isn’t effective for the patient or if a loved one has passed away — unwanted prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and natural health products can be returned through a take-back program at participating locations.

“parents manage their children’s exposure to the internet and various other things, but they should also be managing their medicine cabinet,” advises drover. “make it a habit that’s easy to do. throw all the unused and expired medications into a bag and bring it back to the pharmacy.”

maja begovic is a toronto-based writer.

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are your kids using the drugs in your medicine cabinet?

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are your kids using the drugs in your medicine cabinet?

medication is the leading cause of poisoning in children and poisoning is the third leading cause of unintentional hospitalization of children aged 14 and under.

drugs in medicine cabinets have become party drugs

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