CHARLESTON - Teens are curious. Teens try new trends. Teens accept dares from friends. Having certain products around the home could spark a teen's curiosity and result in a poisoning. The best way to avoid these events is to limit the number of potential poisons in your home. If a product is not being used regularly, don't keep it around to be discovered - use it or lose it.
Avoiding misuse of medicines
Unfortunately, prescription pain and sleep/anxiety medications can be misused or abused by teens. The West Virginia Poison Center encourages parents to discard their prescription pain or sleep/anxiety medications once they are no longer being used. If these types of medications are stored because they are required for future use, lock them up and be aware of how many tablets remain in the bottle.
Teens do not always understand that the use of someone else's prescription medications is not only dangerous but illegal. They may not consider themselves as "abusing" drugs if it is "just their parent's pain medicine" or "just their parent's sleeping medicine." A teen who is upset about something at school or at home may see no harm in taking one or two. In addition, a teen may see no harm in providing a few tablets to a classmate who asks them to let them have some; especially if a friendship with that person is something they desire.
Safety during sports and activities
It is important for teens playing sports and staying active to be hydrated. However, teenagers may not know the difference between a "sports drink" and an "energy drink." Sports drinks are meant to provide extra fluids and electrolytes. On the other hand, energy drinks also contain caffeine. While some daily caffeine intake is not harmful, the consumption of energy drinks throughout the day can quickly result in the inadvertent exposure to excessive amounts of caffeine being ingested. Parents should review the amount of caffeinated products being consumed on a daily basis by their teen. Make sure to add up the amounts in the caffeine, soda, energy bars, energy drinks, water enhancers and/or non-prescription energy tablets that are being consumed regularly. A brochure on preventing caffeine toxicity from energy products is available on the West Virginia Poison Center's website.
What to do if your teen gets poisoned
Call the West Virginia Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 to immediately talk to a medical expert in poison information - 24 hours a day, seven days a week - if you suspect your teen has come in contact with a poison. The Poison Center is free and confidential.
The West Virginia Poison Center provides comprehensive emergency poison information, prevention and educational resources to West Virginians. The WVPC is staffed by nurses, pharmacists and physicians with special training in treatment of poisonings. Located in Charleston, W.Va., the WVPC is a part of the West Virginia University-Charleston Division. For more information, visit www.wvpoisoncenter.org.