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Summer activities usually mean – keep the first aid kit handy for those scrapes and bruises, but before the final school bell rings for the year, parents need to “walk their home” to make sure all medications are put up and away.

People take medicines and vitamins to feel well or stay healthy, but these same medicines and vitamins can cause serious damage if not taken as prescribed or by the wrong person, especially curious children.

Every year, more than 60,000 young children (less than 5 years old) are treated in the emergency room after ingesting medications while their parent or caregiver was not looking. Up and Away and Out of Sight is an educational program to remind families of the importance of safe medicine storage. The informative website defines these safety tips for parent and caregiver.

  • Store medicines in a safe location too high for young children to reach or see.
  • Never leave medicine or vitamins sitting on a kitchen counter/table or a child’s bedside even if the medication needs to be taken every few hours.
  • Always relock the safety cap on a bottle.
  • Talk to your child(ren) about medicines; what medicine is and why only an adult should administer it.
  • Never call a child’s medication so he/she will take it.
  • Remind babysitters and others in your home to keep purses, bags, etc. that contain medicine or vitamins out of reach of children while visiting.
  • Check medications for expiration dates. If a product is not dated, discard it a year or less after purchase.
  • Keep the Poison Help Hotline on your phone or nearby in case of an emergency. Program the number in your cell phone.

Visit the Up and Away and Out of Sight website for more helpful information, including travel tips, tips for grandparents, coloring pages, and more. Then, take the Up and Away and Out of Sight pledge and share this valuable information with your friends and family. And, don’t forget that household products as mundane as laundry detergent or oven cleaner can also be poisonous for curious kids at home.

Mark Bello has thirty-six years experience as a trial lawyer and fourteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a plaintiff involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Member of Public Justice, Public Citizen, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.

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