An emergency room pediatrician has revealed a potential oversight to watch out for this holiday season with your kids, and it all has to do with grandparents’ purse.
More specifically, it’s something called “granny bag syndrome” and it can be life-threatening.
The warning came from Florida-based Dr. Meghan Martin, who goes by the username @playagem10 on social networks.
She broke everything to parents in a new video posted on her TikTok, explaining that it’s important to know this before the holidays.
“This is when young children take their grandparents’ medications that are not adequately insured, for many reasons,” Dr. Martin began the video.
“One of them is that grandparents are not used to having children around, often their medications are on low shelves or in their bags or in containers that are not child-resistant,” she continued.
“Or they also have medications in prescription containers that are not child-safe because of diseases like arthritis.”
The pediatrician further proved her point by sharing a shocking statistic: About 20 percent of poisonings that occur in young children are related to accidentally ingesting their grandparents’ medications.
An emergency room pediatrician has revealed a sneaky oversight you should watch out for this holiday season with your kids, and it has to do with grandparents’ purse (file image)
The warning came from Florida-based Dr. Meghan Martin, who goes by the username @beachgem10 on social media.
“Some of these medications can be really dangerous, they can be pain relievers, antidepressants, heart medications, blood pressure medications or diabetes medications,” Dr. Martin explained.
The expert added that because a child’s body is so small, even a normal dose of medication for an adult can be a “toxic intake” for children.
“It is especially important when family members visit us to make sure that medications are locked and secure, and that we do not keep them in backpacks, purses or suitcases,” she said.
“Don’t take medicine in front of children, because children want to imitate what adults do,” he continued.
“Never refer to medicines as candy, it is not okay to eat medicine, but it is okay to eat sweets.”
The doctor also emphasized that it is important to keep medication boxes locked away from children, or placed in child-resistant containers out of reach of children.
But if your child ends up swallowing while on vacation, he recommended calling 911 or a poison control center.
“Have a safe and happy holiday,” concluded Dr. Martin.
“Some of these medications can be really dangerous, they can be pain relievers, antidepressants, heart medications, blood pressure medications or diabetes medications,” Dr. Martin explained.
In the comments section of her video, many users praised her for the warning and even shared their own stories.
In the comments section of her video, many users praised her for the warning and even shared their own stories.
Some were also surprised to realize that they should also lock up their pills when around children.
“I’m not around small children often, but I didn’t realize until now that my travel medicine case is NOT child-proof at all,” one person admitted.
‘Probably one of the most important messages of these holidays. As a pharmacist and parent, I love this content! Happy Thanksgiving!’ someone else wrote.
Another agreed: ‘My parents were shocked when my ONLY request when they took my three-year-old son away was that they do a deep scan for pills on the floor and lock up ALL medications. They said they didn’t even think about it, but it makes sense.
‘A girl I knew took her grandfather’s cancer medication. “He’s fine now, but it seemed like a scary experience,” a second person shared.
Other users even shared similar warnings for older children.
“Also, teens might be tempted to steal painkillers from their family if they don’t take them, so keep that in mind too!” someone wrote.
‘And teens and young adults may not think to turn on their vaporizers (of all types) and use the battery lock feature on the batteries. Even lithium batteries are dangerous… Put them in, put them away,’ another recalled.