Protecting our Children from Drugs in the Home

Now that Halloween has passed, many parents are relieved that their children made it home safe and sound and no poison was found in the candy basket. As it turns out, the poisoned Halloween Candy concept is an urban myth and in reality, children do not get poisoned by strangers handing out dangerous sweets.

The real scare is actually in our own homes. Many of us keep medications in our cabinets that can be poisonous to children. Chemicals and household products may smell interesting and lead children to experiment. Although the majority of parents are extremely diligent in locking medicine cabinets and cleaning product containers, kids can be creative. If you suspect that your child, or even your pet, has ingested something toxic, ANY LAB TEST NOW® locations offer Unknown Poison and Toxic Analysis testing. This test can be done with a quick turnaround so that the proper treatment can be provided immediately. Although this test does not detect drugs or heavy metals, it can be used to test for household chemicals, pesticides, painting or cleaning products, rodent poisons, volatiles and inhalants.

Another very real concern is the possibility of your child or their playmates exploring the prescription medicines in your home to get high. George F. Will reported recently in the Washington Post that Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama’s new Drug Czar, was shocked to discover a focus group of 7 year old girls discussing “pharm parties -- sampling pharmaceuticals from their parents' medicine cabinets… (Apparently) young humans have less native sense than young dachshunds…” . It would seem that parents need to worry about their 7 year olds getting into their prescription drugs as much as they would worry about teenagers trying this. Any Lab Test Now locations offer Unknown Substance Analysis testing when they find a substance that they suspect could be a drug or Drug Test panels to test bodily fluids for suspected ingestion of drugs, either illegal or prescription.

Even when we try our best to keep medications and household chemicals and toxins out of reach or locked away, we can’t protect our children all the time. We can figure out if there is a problem, either accidental or intentional, and then determine what to do to help them.