Families take medicines and vitamins to feel well
or stay well.

Any medicine or vitamin can be dangerous if taken in the wrong way or by the wrong person, even medicine you buy without a prescription.

Help keep children safe by sharing these tips with your friends and family!

About 60,000 young children end up in emergency rooms each year because they got into medicines that were left within reach. These emergency visits can be prevented by practicing safe medication storage and use while at home
and when on-the-go.

• Put medicines up and away and out of
  children’s reach and sight.
• Put medicines away every time: Never leave medicine out on a kitchen counter or at a sick child’s bedside, even if you have to give it again in a few hours.
• Make sure the safety cap is locked: Always relock the cap on a medicine bottle. If the bottle has a locking cap that turns, twist it until you hear the click or cannot twist anymore.
• Teach your children about medicine safety: Teach your children what medicine is and why you or a trusted adult must be the one
  to give it to them.
• Never tell children medicine is candy to get them to take it, even if they don’t like to take their medicine.
• Always keep medications in their original
  or prescription bottles.

Call your poison control center at 1.800.222.1222 right away if you think your child might have gotten into a medicine or vitamin, even if you
are not completely sure.

Safely dispose of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs and over the counter drugs, vitamins, and supplements. To dispose of
medicines, mix them with coffee grounds or kitty litter and throw them away. You can also
turn them in at a local take-back program or during National Drug Take-Back events

Adapted from the CDC’s Up & Away Campaign.