National Poison Prevention Week Raises Awareness About Drug Poisonings

March 25, 2011 4:15 pm Topics: Patient safety

Over 30 patient safety and stakeholder organizations have coordinated to support National Poison Prevention Week, taking place March 20-26, 2011, and aimed to alert citizens about the problem of unintentional poisonings, including poisonings resulting from prescription and over-the-counter drug misuse. The Poison Prevention Web site provides patient and consumer education materials and information on coordinating an event during the annual awareness week. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that more than 1 million children under the age of five are exposed annually to potential poisons, including medications. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 71,000 children (18 years old and younger) are seen in emergency departments each year because of medication poisonings (excluding recreational drug use). Further, CDC indicates that 93% of all unintentional poisoning deaths are a result of drug overdose, and most commonly overdose of opioid pain medications such as methadone, hydrocodone, or oxycodone. National Poison Prevention Week seeks to raise awareness about these issues and educate consumers on steps to avoid drug poisonings such as locking medications, keeping medications away from children, and reading prescription labels carefully to verify that the correct medication and dosage is taken or administered. Additional tips for safe medication storage and safely obtaining and administering medications are also available on www.AWARERx.org.