In a study recently published by the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers concluded that flow regulators for liquid medication bottles are an effective way to limit the amount of medication administered to young children. If combined with existing child-resistant packaging, flow regulators may represent an effective second line of defense.

Researchers tested a group of 110 children aged three to four years. Each was given 10 minutes to remove as much liquid as possible from uncapped bottles with flow regulators, or a control bottle without a regulator (with either no cap, or an incompletely closed cap). While 96% of the control bottles were emptied within two minutes, only 6% of the flow-regulated bottles were emptied at all. The study also determined that flow regulators reduced the amount of liquid the children were able to remove.

In recent years, the number of emergency room visits related to accidental medication ingestion has increased, and poison control centers report over half a million related calls each year. The addition of flow regulators may help to reverse those trends. However, the study’s authors note that flow restrictors work best as a secondary barrier and that they should be used to complement existing safeguards. Additional information on safely administering medications to children is available on the “Safety Tips for Children” page of the AWARxE^® Web site.