Child Resistant Lids
It has come to our attention that on Friday 17th Feb a pharmacist checked, and gave to the mother of a young child, a bottle of paracetamol suspension 120mg/5ml and one of amoxicillin 125mg/5ml. The mother put the amoxicillin in the fridge. The bottle had a top on it, that at a glance looked like a child resistant lid, but was in fact not one. The paracetamol suspension did have a child resistant lid on it.
The child went into the fridge, opened the bottle of amoxicillin and drank the whole bottle full. This led to a trip to the local [email protected] department and resulted in a child with diarrhoea and vomiting for most of the night. Obviously the parents were very worried and angry. If the child had drank the paracetamol, then obviously the consequences could have been a lot more serious.
Looking at the two brands of amoxicillin in the pharmacy where I worked today, neither had child resistant lids on them. It is good practice to remove these lids, after re-constituting the liquid, and fit a proper child resistant lid. It is however very easy to miss this, especially when run off your feet, so beware!
I would urge all dispensers and pharmacists to be extra vigilant when using the original containers for anti-biotics. Always change the lid, if it is not the correct type, and make sure it is secure.
REMEMBER NO LID IS CHILD PROOF !!!
It has come to our attention that on Friday 17th Feb a pharmacist checked, and gave to the mother of a young child, a bottle of paracetamol suspension 120mg/5ml and one of amoxicillin 125mg/5ml. The mother put the amoxicillin in the fridge. The bottle had a top on it, that at a glance looked like a child resistant lid, but was in fact not one. The paracetamol suspension did have a child resistant lid on it.
The child went into the fridge, opened the bottle of amoxicillin and drank the whole bottle full. This led to a trip to the local [email protected] department and resulted in a child with diarrhoea and vomiting for most of the night. Obviously the parents were very worried and angry. If the child had drank the paracetamol, then obviously the consequences could have been a lot more serious.
Looking at the two brands of amoxicillin in the pharmacy where I worked today, neither had child resistant lids on them. It is good practice to remove these lids, after re-constituting the liquid, and fit a proper child resistant lid. It is however very easy to miss this, especially when run off your feet, so beware!
I would urge all dispensers and pharmacists to be extra vigilant when using the original containers for anti-biotics. Always change the lid, if it is not the correct type, and make sure it is secure.
REMEMBER NO LID IS CHILD PROOF !!!
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