Safety with medicine is not reserved only for young, elementary aged children. Preteens and teenagers need just as much vigilance as do the younger children. This is the common age when kids will start to experiment and possibly cause an accidental overdose.

Some common ingredients in decongestant medicines include pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, and phenylephrine. These can all affect your heart rate, blood pressure, and nervous system and severe poisoning can result in seizures and irregular heart rates.

Many pharmacies now ask for identification to purchase products with these ingredients to prevent teens from buying the products and misusing them but even if you keep it in your house, a teen is still able to gain access to it. Open communication about drugs and their dangers is of paramount importance as is keeping these medicines out of the reach of teen children.

Even “safe” drugs like Tylenol can be fatal or cause life-threatening side-effects if proper supervision isn’t used. In addition to communicating with your teenager, never allow him to get the dose of medicine by himself. Be the parent and take this responsibility seriously when dispensing medications.

In Conclusion

Protecting our children’s health is our biggest priority as parents. While it’s inevitable that they will encounter cold germs or other viral infections, how we treat them when they get sick is of utmost importance.

While some people prefer to stay with all natural remedies, others may run to get some medicine to help their child’s symptoms. This is a matter of personal preference but if you choose medicine, please review and practice the safeguards in this report.

The medical world has made some amazing advances with regard to treating illnesses but all too often we hear news of accidental overdoses made by careless mistakes. Your child is a precious gift and dispensing medicine should be done carefully to prevent another tragic mistake.