As a healthcare professional, there is nothing quite as warming to my heart as seeing a curious, energetic child exploring their world. Their desire to learn and discover is what helps them grow. However, as Dr. Anita Sabeti, I also know that this same curiosity can lead to dangerous situations, particularly inside our own homes. Today, I want to have an important conversation with you about a concept that is simple yet life-saving: “Up and Away.”
When we think about childproofing, we often think about covering electrical outlets or putting gates at the top of stairs. But one area that requires constant vigilance is medicine storage. It is a topic that comes up frequently in my practice, and I want to share the best strategies to keep your family safe and healthy.
The Curiosity Connection: Why Kids Are at Risk
Children explore the world through their senses. They touch, they look, and very often, they taste. To a toddler, a colorful pill looks exactly like a piece of candy. A bottle of cough syrup might look just like a sugary fruit drink. This isn’t a child being “naughty”; it is a child being a child.
The problem is that our homes are often filled with more medications than ever before. From daily vitamins and allergy relief to prescription heart medications or pain relievers, these substances are powerful. When used correctly, they heal. But when they end up in the wrong hands, they can be harmful.
Proper medicine storage is not just about organizing your bathroom cabinet; it is about creating a secure barrier between a child’s curiosity and a potential emergency.
Defining “Up and Away”
The “Up and Away” campaign is an initiative led by the CDC and its partners to protect children from unintentional medication overdoses. The rule is exactly what it sounds like: Keep medicines up (above counter height) and away (out of sight and reach).
It sounds simple, right? Yet, in the hustle and bustle of daily life, it is easy to leave a pill bottle on the kitchen counter because “I have to take another one in four hours.” That four-hour window is more than enough time for a toddler to climb a chair and investigate.
The Reality of Accidents
To understand why I am so passionate about this, we have to look at the numbers. They help us see the scope of the issue without causing panic.
Data Point 1: According to Safe Kids Worldwide, approximately 35,000 children are treated in emergency rooms annually because they got into medicines while their parents or caregivers were not looking. That is roughly one child every 15 minutes.
This statistic tells me that this can happen to anyone. It happens to attentive parents, loving grandparents, and careful babysitters. The goal isn’t to feel guilty; it is to build better habits around medicine storage.
Visualizing the Danger: Candy vs. Medicine
I often tell parents that we cannot rely on a child’s ability to tell the difference between a treat and a treatment. Pharmaceutical companies design medicines to be palatable and visually distinct for adults, but those design choices often overlap with the candy aisle.
Here is a chart that breaks down the visual similarities that confuse our children.
Chart: The Visual Confusion Scale
| MEDICINE | CANDY LOOK-ALIKE | SHARED VISUAL TRAITS |
|---|---|---|
| Red Sudafed PE | Red M&Ms or Skittles | Small, round, bright red, shiny coating. |
| Chewable Aspirin (Orange) | Smarties or Sweet Tarts | Chalky texture, pastel orange color, disk shape. |
| Gummy Vitamins | Gummy Bears | Squishy texture, fruity smell, animal shapes. |
| Blue Ibuprofen | Blue Tic Tacs | Oval shape, bright blue, polished finish. |
| Liquid Cough Syrup (Red/Purple) | Kool-Aid or Fruit Juice | Bright liquid color, sweet fruity scent. |
As you can see from the chart above, the similarities are striking. If you put these items side-by-side, even an adult might have to look twice. A three-year-old does not stand a chance of distinguishing them. This is why medicine storage must be about complete inaccessibility, not just teaching a child “don’t touch.”
Strategic Storage: Creating Your Safety Plan
So, how do we implement “Up and Away” effectively? I have broken this down into actionable steps that you can implement in your home today.
1. Pick the Right Location
The kitchen counter, the bedside table, and the purse on the floor are the danger zones. Safe medicine storage means a high cabinet. Ideally, this cabinet should be above the height of your average five-year-old on a chair. If you can, choose a cabinet that has a latch or a lock.
2. The “Child-Resistant” Myth
There is a common misconception that “child-resistant” means “child-proof.” This is false. Child-resistant caps are designed to be difficult for children to open, not impossible. They are meant to buy you time to intervene. Many children, given enough time and determination, can pop those caps open. Always secure the cap until you hear the “click,” but then put the bottle away immediately.
3. Relock Every Time
It is tempting to leave the cap loose if you are sick and weak and know you need to take another dose soon. Please resist this urge. Relock the safety cap after every single dose. It takes two seconds, but it provides a critical layer of safety.
4. The Purse Problem
We often forget about the medicine we carry with us. If you keep headache medicine or allergy pills in your purse or diaper bag, you must store the bag up high. When guests come over, ask them to put their coats and bags in a closet or a high place, rather than leaving them on the floor or the sofa. Grandparents’ purses are statistically a very common source of accidental medicine access.
For more detailed guidelines on this, I highly recommend reading this resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the Up and Away campaign. They offer incredible insights into keeping families safe.
Understanding the Trends
To further understand why medicine storage is such a pressing issue, we need to look at who is most at risk. While older children can make mistakes, the data points overwhelmingly to our youngest family members.
Graph Description: Vulnerability by Age
Imagine a bar graph representing calls to Poison Control Centers regarding accidental medicine ingestion.
- The Vertical Axis (Y-axis): Represents the number of emergency calls.
- The Horizontal Axis (X-axis): Represents the age of the child (0 to 10 years).
The Visual Trend:
- Age 0-1: The bar is low but present. Babies are usually handed things, but once they start crawling, the risk rises.
- Age 1-2: The bar shoots up dramatically. This is the peak “climber and explorer” phase.
- Age 2-3: The bar remains very high. Toddlers are dexterous enough to unscrew loose caps.
- Age 4-5: The numbers begin to drop significantly as children start to understand rules and danger.
- Age 6+: The curve flattens out, though risks shift to dosage errors rather than accidental discovery.
This graph in our minds highlights that the “danger zone” is the toddler years. This is when our medicine storage game needs to be strongest.
Behavioral Safety: How We Talk About Medicine
Beyond where we put the bottles, how we talk about medicine matters immensely. I always advise parents to never, ever refer to medicine as “candy” to get a child to take it. I know it can be a struggle to get a sick child to swallow medicine, but calling it candy creates a confusing association. Instead, say, “This is medicine to help you feel better.”
Furthermore, try to avoid taking your own medication in front of your children. Kids are mimics. They want to do exactly what Mommy and Daddy do. If they see you popping a pill from a bottle, they may try to imitate that action later when you aren’t watching.
Data on Where Medicine is Found
We often think that accidents happen because a child broke into a locked cabinet. The reality is much simpler and more preventable.
Data Point 2: Research indicates that in 67% of emergency room visits for medicine poisoning, the medicine was left within reach of the child, such as on a counter, a bedside table, or the floor. It wasn’t “stored” poorly; it wasn’t stored at all.
Proper Disposal: The Final Step in Storage
Part of good medicine storage is knowing when to stop storing something. We all have that one shelf with expired antibiotics from three years ago or painkillers from an old dental procedure. Keeping unnecessary medicine increases the risk of an accident.
I encourage you to clean out your medicine cabinet every six months. Check the expiration dates. If you don’t need it, get rid of it. However, do not just throw it in the trash can where a child or pet could dig it out.
Safe Disposal Methods:
- Drug Take-Back Programs: Many pharmacies and police stations have secure bins where you can drop off old meds.
- Mix and Toss: If you must throw it away at home, mix the medicine (do not crush tablets) with an unappealing substance like kitty litter or used coffee grounds, put it in a sealed plastic bag, and then throw it in the trash.
- Flush List: Some highly dangerous medicines are recommended by the FDA to be flushed to ensure they are immediately gone, but check the FDA “flush list” first to be environmentally conscious.
Emergency Preparedness
Even with the best medicine storage habits, accidents can happen. Being prepared is not an admission of failure; it is a sign of a responsible parent.
Please, right now, take out your phone. I want you to save the number for Poison Help: 1-800-222-1222.
You can also stick this number on your refrigerator. If you suspect your child has ingested medicine, do not wait for symptoms to appear. Call immediately. The experts there are calm, incredibly knowledgeable, and will tell you exactly what to do. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7.
Working Together for Safety
Protecting our children is a community effort. It involves parents, doctors, grandparents, and caregivers all being on the same page. By implementing the “Up and Away” method, we are taking a proactive stance against accidental poisoning.
I hope you found this guide helpful. My goal as Dr. Sabeti is to ensure that your home is a sanctuary where your children can grow, learn, and play safely. Let’s take a few minutes today to check our counters, clean out our purses, and secure those cabinets. A few small changes in how we handle medicine storage can make a world of difference for the little ones we love so much.
