Children poisoned by transdermal medications lost or tossed in the trash, experts say
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comDangerous drug patches pose overlooked risk to kids
Seeded on Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:14 AM EDT (msnbc.com)
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And marijuana is soooooo much worse and evil, right?
Hey, look a comment that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT THE ARTICLE!
Welcome to Newsvine, where people get up on their pulpit to preach about their cause, regardless of what the topic is. Good luck with that church you belong to.
Good to know! Now when my toddler is ready to quit smoking, I make sure he uses the gum versus the patch ;)
there are transdermal THC patches being developed for MS patients...certainly relevant comment for an article discussing medicated patches. Don't be so quick to judge Derek.
Oh relax Derek and take that serious bug out. Just commenting on dangerous drugs by big pharma in relation to other less dangerous alternitives. You're intelligence or the lack there of is showing my ignorant fool. Perhaps a can opener to unlock that closed up mind of yours??? I dont need to go to church (WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ARITICLE bye the way) to pray or help out someone in my neighborhood or in my path. Grow up and put on your big boy pants.
The real problem here is that we don't know what long range effects of most medications are.
Look at the problems we've had with long term side effects associated with Avandia and the laundry list of pain medications currently targets of lawsuits - added to the fact these are for children and suddenly the reason for concern is genuine.
I loved the recommendation of flushing the patch. It just stinks for people who live in homes with septic tanks. Fortunately the easy solution is taking the patch directly out of the house and into the garbage outside.
In general, I'm happy this article was written though. It brings attention to something most people don't think about in life that could potentially cause problems in certain circumstances. My only objection was the little bit of scare tactics warning somebody wearing a patch to fear hugging a child.
@Indigogal: Fine, I'll relax. But seriously, it is a ridiculous open to this whole post. I mean, you could talk about anything? The safety of pot? Come on. The point of the article is kids died because of something that is in the market that is pretty popular and probably should have some warning on it (not that warnings will save anyone from irresponsibility). Anyway, sorry for the knee-jerk reaction, but when you open like that, you can expect some feedback, and rightly so.
FYI, the church comment is just a sideswipe at the 'Cult of Pot.' The Cult has nothing to do so much with pot smoking, but the people who basically worship pot like Christ. Which makes them no worse, of course, than a Christian fundamentalist. It also makes them no better. You can recognize someone from the Cult of Pot, since they tend to throw science down the toilet when speaking about ganja, rather than make sensical arguements about things like why it should be legalized (which it should).
That's fine Derek, however was again because of medications and such things like patches left around doesn't occur to anyone till it happens when children or other things occur. Wouldnt it be much better to find other alternatives that wouldnt pose such a threat to person or life? As far as preaching about marijuana, its more about a healthier, safer alternative whether it be medicine, food or lifestyle. As far as comments...hey, America and free speech or has that too fallen by the way side?
My cousin used patches for horrible pain she suffers from. She was wearing one on a hot day and started to perspire and almost died from an over dose of a heavy opiate drug...morphine. This is what is thought about after the fact.
Well, yes, if you have the point of view of well, 'where is the FDA in all of this,' there's nothing like having 'deregulation' in the health industry. Al lthat work keeping pot illegal and not any coming up with safer alternatives to the patch, and even letting surgical items go to market UNTESTED? Yeah, that's what we need, 'more deregulation.' Unless its pot. Go regulate that!
There's a big difference between THC and Opiates.
THC is NOT going to help someone enough with severe chronic pain that would normally get them on a patch. Opiates have been used for pain probably as long as we have been using THC. Alexander the Great found Opium being used for pain relief in Afganistan and they used it to provide relief to the wounded. They weren't smoking hashish for battle wounds.
A kid could sit and munch a bag of weed and it would hardly hurt him unless he choked on it...
This is a patch that was used and thrown away. The boy merely put it in his mouth and sucked on it and almost died.
How is that not relevant? It's an example of the backwards a$$ laws of the United States.
Note: yes, my last post was supposed to be sarcastic, if it wasn't clear.
This sucks..........so to speak.............
Don't ask for any help soon from the FDA, as we all know, it can take up to 10+ years for a new or improved Drug to reach the Prescription Market, where it is VERY Expensive until it is de-Rx'd, as in Stop-Smoking Patches, gum, and Lozenges.
The FDA is strictly controlled by the Party in Power, whether (D) or (R), and the Politics of the applicant Corporation determine who gets the OK, and who doesn't in a timely manner. In the case of the FDA, "timely" just means 6 Years as opposed to 10+ or so.
The Drug approval Department of the FDA should be ONLY concerned with the Drug portion, and should NEVER be used for the recall and Regulation of the Foods, and what is placed in it. The "Food" portion of the FDA and the "Drug" Portion should be totally separate from each other, and not combined in any way, unless of course the "Food" that is used for the Tabs, Caps, Liquids becomes a problem. The problem arisess out of using certain animal and Mineral/Vegetable parts as preservitaves to extend the shelf life or flavor/ease of use, and as we have seen, many reports of Disease have stemmed from Animal and Vegetables lately. The same Animals and Veggies provide the substances used as I mentioned above.
BTW, everyone, even the "Vegans" out there should read ALL llables closely and research those Latin and Medical terms on their purchases at shops such as GNC and every other "Natural" substances sold as being Healthful, and that research will normally scare the S*%t out of you, totally un-regulated because they don't establish any "Medical cures or Preventions" as prescribed by the FDA, hence, the HUGE Market in OTC Drugs and Vitamins/supplements that very much of the Population puts into their Bodies daily.
How does this link to the Article? Well, those supplements, when NOT kept from Children and Infants can and do cause lots of damage to them, and, if you think you are helping them by "Just a little" in their Food, you are right up there with those that don't keep their Meds/Patches out of the Reach of those you must protect. My Pain Patches are ALWAYS wrapped in a Paper Toeel, and carried out to the Community Dumpster for disposal, as I do know that "Flushed" Medications get into the Water at the Sewage Processing facility and pumped right back into the City water supply. The Drugs can't be "Removed" or rendered Harmless, there is just no process for that, Period.
Be smart, use wisely and only as ABSOLUTELY Necessary, and dispose of PROPERLY, not in your Household Trash can where everyone else has access to the Drugs and Supplements.
Unfortunately, a lot of these patches look just like a bandage. My husband wears a patch daily. The box containing the patches could easily be mistaken for a box of "big bandages" suitable for a knee scrape.
We no longer have children living in our home, but when we did, how many times did our children get a bandage on their own for their scrape? You may say that they should be supervised when doing so or have an adult place the bandage. It's not always that easy. We now have grans, and when you have a large gathering of people over and the children are running and playing, they may go grab a bandage on their own.
This article prompts me to put my husband's Rx patches in a different location, away from the vanity area. As well, the disposal of them simply in the bathroom trash will change.
That is an excellent idea, you should store all Rx, not just patches, in a location where children cannot reach them. Certainly it is negligent to keep a medicated patch right next to a box of band-aids if children are free to "go grab a bandage on their own." Separate the two items and there will be no confusion. Common sense goes a long way.
Medication patches should always be stored where children can not get a hold of them. This will prevent them from accidentally being used as bandages by a child. Used patches should be folded in half so that the medicated side sticks together. This will prevent the used patch from accidentally sticking to someone like a child. Some of the patches do not stick very well after they are removed, but stretching them a little as you stick the sides together helps it stick. Once the patch is folded over it should be flushed, particularly the fentanyl patches which can be very dangerous. Folding them over helps keep the medication from leeching out in the water as some have suggested. Fentanyl, even in small doses, can be extremely dangerous for anyone who has not been on opiod medication for a long time.
When my child was small, I bought a fishing tackle box to put any medications in. I locked it with a combination lock. Worked great!
Even though I did my best, one day he got a hold of a tube of toothpaste and started eating it! You can OD on toothpaste too! Oh, and "magic eraser" cleaning sponges...
I am really surprised that there isn't a bunch of knuckle dragging goons on here hooting about "why the grandparents aren't in prison already"!!! Because everyone knows that prison is the answer for everything that anyone does anywhere anytime!!!
I am sure that the grandparents were mortified to learn that their grandchild was injured and almost died from one of their patches and the chances of a repeat of this by the same people is next to zero! Plus the attention brought to this to others thru word of mouth and the media will help save others down the road!!
None the less there will be those who feel that a good long stretch in the "big house" with daily ass kicking's and a rape or two is just what these folks need to avenge for their actions!!
I do not support any such thing myself!!!
SuelnTx ~~ It's true that little kids LOVE bandaids. After all, bandaids fix everything.
It's news stories like this that will help to alert parents and grandparents, and remind them that ALL MEDICATIONS should be out of reach of little hands (teens too), and should be disposed of properly. I would NEVER have thought that disposing a patch in the trash would be found by a child. Who knew?. I do know that most meds should NEVER BE FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET. Ask your pharmascist where/how to dispose of unused medication, or go on line and see what is recommended, and where you can take meds in your area.
"Flush medication down the toilet"??? Haven't I been hearing that our public water supplies are increasingly contaminated with excess unmetabolized medications from people's urine? Do we need to needlessly exacerbate that problem by intentionally flushing pills/patches? Ridiculous.
yes, Yes, YES! The last thing we need to do is be FLUSHING them!
Actually, you are supposed to return any unused medications to the pharmacy, where they can properly dispose of them.
@Matt - good idea for unused meds, but for USED patches it's a different situation. Flushing them down the toilet is NOT a good idea. EVER.
When my uncle died, he had several prescribed meds, the pharmacy did not want them but recommended a local Dr. who was thrilled to have them for his free clinic. (They were in the original container with all proper information)
My pharmacy no longer takes unused medications, but they never took used patches.
The local police have a couple of well-advertised days each year for collecting old medications of any kind, and I've been told that the county sheriff collects old drugs anytime. I believe the old meds are incinerated. The pharmacies here don't take anything. Since we are dependent upon private wells for our drinking water around here, there is no way I would flush anything dangerous into my septic tank.
I totally agree with the idea of not throwing unused meds down the toilet, but having just come back from my own pharmacy I can see why some people would. As I was standing in line, I noticed a sign on the pharmacy counter saying that it was now participating in some new program where it would begin accepting out dated and unused medications for disposal, but it would cost you $3.99!!!! Angry couldn't even begin to describe how I felt after reading that sign! With the high costs of prescription medication already, now they want to charge you for throwing the damned things away!! I live in a small town in south central Pennsylvania (near the capital of Harrrisburg) and we have a good many senior citizens and I'm sure that they aren't any different than a lot of other senior citizens around the country that struggle each month, deciding whether to eat or pay for their medications (which is a whole entirely different matter that angers me to no end). Now our poor seniors have to put aside even more money each month if they want to dispose of any meds they have that they may no longer need in the proper manner!!!! Disgusting, and I hope that if any seniors read this post, when they go food shopping treat themselves to something special for once and throw all your unsed medications down the freaking toilet!!!!
Hey Doug - My family is from Lower Paxton Township near Harrisburg. Last year they had a collection drive to collect unused medication. I am not sure if they are having it this year or not, but it is usually in August. Just a thought to maybe call your local township to see if they conduct something like this in your area.
Doug ~~ I take several medications, but would not mind occassionally paying my pharmacy $3.99 to properly dispose of my unused and out dated drugs. To me, it would be a convenience, and save me the time and effort of searching out a place to take the meds for disposal. All the better if your community has a collection program that comes along once or twice a year to take care of that. Most likely that would be free.
I would think that it would be a good, safe practice to just purchase a small sharps container & when it is full, dispose of it thru your local trash collector-properly. I am diabetic & our waste collection service has a sharps disposal program. Since the waste is all incinerated, that would eliminate the problem of the drug getting into the water also.
Imagine my outrage when I went to my pharmacy and asked them what they wanted me to do with my unused pills after my medication had been switched. They told me to pour water in the container and let the pills turn to sludge and then flush it. Why you ask? because that is how they do it!? I kept the bottle and went in the next week and spoke to someone higher up on the food chain and they told me the same thing! So I sent a letter to the head of the company...we shall see how this turns out. If I don't get the response I am looking for I will have to do something more because that is just insane that they would even consider it!
Hi Lorene Solivan, it wasn't the cost for me that I was concerned about, it was for those seniors who may live on a very fixed and tight budget that I was referring to. Plus it was the simple fact that with the cost of medications already being so high, the thought that there is an additional cost to get rid of them, just struck me as idiotic. You would think that in order to get people not to do the wrong thing and dispose the meds down the toilet, they would make it as cheap and easy as possible to dispose of them the proper way. I think my anger over the entire thing comes on the heels of a story that I read recently about a 82 year old woman, living by herself, and required to take several life supporting type medications who couldn't afford to eat and pay for her meds each month so she resorted to eating cans of cat food! There is no excuse for that in this country!!!!
@Paula-755953
Great idea! A very simple, inexpensive and common sense solution to the problem. I hope everyone commenting here reads your answer.
What about the contamination of the water supply from patches ending up in landfills?
Why do you think our society acts like it does? I don't just post comments, I read many. It's frightening sometimes.
Modern landfills don't leach anything into the water supply. This isn't the best way to dispose of old drugs, but its better than flushing which does go directly into the water supply.
Article said residual was 72 hours.
Im more worried about them telling people to flush them which will go into the water supply...
The question to me is why don't we in the US have a safe protocol for medication disposal.
Yes, this is a huge concern! My girlfriends family were vacationing at a wonderful resort with a pool! While swimming in the pool a medical patch attached itself to their 10year old daughter's backside of the upper arm. Through the night the their daughter grew more and more ill. Eventually, they spotted the patch and rushed her to the emergency room. They were so fortunate...it was some ones heart medication patch and with serious life threatening side affects for their child. I am happy to see an article that educates the public on this topic! Thanks.
Used medication patches should be disposed of like used sharps are since they are both harmful.
I use an empty drink bottle and write "danger" and "sharps" in permanent marker all over the package (I'm an insulin user). This bottle is kept in a way-outta-the-way cabinet where neither of my children could ever reach. When it's full, I tape up the lid and take it to my dr.'s office where they dispose of it in a bio-med bin.
I am glad that you are so vigilant with your medications, however the fact is that most people are too lazy to dispose of things properly.
When I used nicotine patches, they came with a tamper-resistant box for disposing of used patches and the instruction booklet was very clear about the dangers of pets and kids getting ahold of used patches.
It all ends up in our drinking water, lakes,rivers and the oceans anyway.
That's a very good way to dispose of your sharps. I was using meds that had sharps and I did the same thing.
Instead of making these patches discreet, they should make them look scary. Put the poison symbol on them.
I think that would make them even more attractive to a child. You ever had a little kid go through the "sticker" phase?
Why are you telling people to flush used medications down the toilet? Do you have any idea how moronic that advice is? Used meds should never be flushed, they will end up in our oceans or our groundwater.
Great article! A friend of ours was vacationing at a wonderful resort w/ a pool. While swimming a Rx patch attached itself to their 10 yr old daughter. Unaware of the patch, their daughter grew more and more ill during the passing hours. Fortunately, they spotted the patch and rushed to the emergency room. The patch was someones heart medication. Their daughter was fortunate that they found the patch in time.... These Rx patch's are life threatening to others and should be used with the utmost respect!!!
Geez. How scary!!
I finally learned something useful on a blog.
If these patchs can detach in a pool and reattach then there should be a procedure to secure them on the skin under such circumstances.
Other than that, it's common sense whether or not you have children. Secure all medications where it's least like to be found and where a child can't reach them even standing on a chair.
the toilet? more drugs placed in the waste system does not sound like a solution. we have already heard stories how our water is already saturated with drugs, anti-biotics etc. dispose of your medications properly, don't flush them however.
I have been wearing nicotine patches and can attest to the fact that these patches come off easily. I use a well known name brand. After finding a few "lost" ones around the house I solved the problem by placing a large adhesive bandage over the patch. With three small grandchildren the thought of one of them finding the patch horrified me. I don't know about other medicated patches but the nicotine patches do not stay on very long and I think this should be reviewed by the makers.
Adding a bandage over your patch may be safe for a nicotine patch (I honestly don't know) but I do know that you can't irritate the skin near a fentanyl patch because the irritated skin changes the absorption rate. There's another patch-like product (prescription only) that delivers lidocaine for pain relief, and its instructions were very clear about not using bandages to hold it down. Also, you can't shave to remove hair first. I pretty much can't use a patch ... won't stick. Neither will EKG pads. Nurses hate me for that.
A nurse at my hospital used something new I've never seen before. It some sort of non adhesive bandage to secure the cotton placed where blood had been drawn. Keeps it in place and comes off easily, no iritation, but it's hot pink.
spandex wrap
A non adhesive bandage is still a bandage, and is not recommended to hold patches in place. I wore lidocaine patches for several months with a baby / toddler in the house, and I checked it often to make sure it was in place, and when done, I wrapped it in itself so nothing sticky was exposed, and wrapped in a paper towel, and stuffed it into the garbage.
These types of drugs are great for the people that need them to live from day to day without pain but the disposal is critical. The should be flushed down the stool to make it not accessible to children. The potential danger is critical to children and pets and it is very necessary to delete them in a proper way. The danger is apparent.
Randy H.
"...raising alarms about the dangers of drugs that stick to the skin."
Gee, shouldn't it instead be raising concerns about how well people parent and what they do around kids? It's not the drug company's fault you threw your patch somewhere that the little kid could find it anymore than it would be Gillette's fault if you threw your razor blade somewhere the kid could have found and then swallowed. It's YOUR fault.
I hope that grandparents goes to prison and pays for almost killing the child. How incredibly careless. They need to be held accountable.
As if you never made a mistake in your life.
Not one that sent people to the hospital or nearly killed them, no.
Are you 100% sure of that?
Yes I am.
It is absolutely RIDICULOUS to persecute the grandparents. This is honestly an accident. Now it's a wake up call to parents and grandparents alike to make sure their meds are totally secure and out of reach. I'm sure the grandparents are SICK knowing that it was their patch that made their grandchild ill.
Adam and JJMurray ~~ Get a grip......you are in no way free of guilt/blame in your life. I'm sure you've totally screwed up somewhere along the line, and just wasn't caught. These grandparents screwed up, and it's public knowledge, unlike YOUR screw ups.
Adam--Prison for the grandparents? That is sick.
Troll, he's just trying to get yall going.
My wife is uses a daily trans-dermal patch - and one problem is that they are fleshed tone, even though she always put it on under her clothing. We always have to check that the old one is removed before putting a new patch on - so it would be much easier if they were bright red!
People you need to be more careful with your drugs!
I agree. We tend to take a much too casual attitude about such things.
I think the former smokers should start smoking again as clearly that was less dangerous to our children than 4 kids dying since 1997 from ALL the transdermal patches!!!
There is a market for used and unused patches. They just tear off a piece and chew it. Seen it.
Not only proper disposal but vigilance is necessary.
xvet
crazy way-out-in-space idea here... maybe.. JUST MAYBE.. the kind of grandparent who cannot get through the day without powerful painkillers in transdermal patches should not be left to care for infant children.... if you are ON POWERFUL PAINKILLERS and consequently are UNABLE to ADEQUATELY SUPERVISE AN INFANT, maybe someone who can should take the reins.
Did I miss something? Did it say the grandparent cared for the infant? I could be wrong, but I didn't see that anywhere. Also, the danger is not just with powerful painkiller patches. Other patches can be dangerous also.
Actually, Bob, people who take painkillers for pain don't get high from them. They simply are able to function like normal people (in the best cases) or are not in quite so much pain. Millions and millions of people suffer from chronic pain, cancer, and other painful conditions that warrant the use of prescription pain medication (which is actually safer than the liver-damaging OTC stuff). You encounter them every day. We're all around you, and we're responsible people.
Well Clark, I hope you are never diagnosed with a health problem that requires you to take or use some type of medication because I am sure you will refuse, after all you were living fine before you were diagnosed.
I bet you would be the first in line at the pharmacy if it meant life or death.
We have ALWAYS known to keep medications away from kids. A patch is just a medication in another form. Parents are the biggest hazard kids face now!
Wait, you mean I'm not supposed to leave open jars of Vicodin lying around the house where toddlers play?!!?! Well, this is definitely news to me. I'll make sure to keep my medication safely out of the hands of those kids when they're playing with razor blades, matches, and loaded firearms.
I want to come visit your house Matt. :-)
Hahaha, Matt, your post reminds me of a scene in Family Guy where Peter is babysitting the neighbor's kid.
[fills the water in the bathtub up to the kid's nose]
"I couldn't find your toys, so just play with this blowdryer and these rattles [bottles of pills]. You probably want me to get out of your hair, so here's the Drano in case there's a clog. Soap's right there next to the radio, and towels are on the roof. Well, goodnight!"
Chronic pain sufferers do not get HIGH from these patches. That's why they're used. It delivers a slow dose of pain meds to keep the pain under control. You would be surprised at the people who use these and work, drive, live a normal life. Do not demonize people in pain for one day you may be one of them.
Thank you,Candie811, for that thoughtful post. I am 37 yo, mother to two young children and live with chronic pain. I am on these patches and have been for 4 years. Prior to using them, I was on vicodin and hated waiting for it to kick in, dreading it wearing off and looking at the clock so I could take another one. These patches allow me to live and not constantly staring at the clock and living in the pain I thought I needed to become accustomed to.
candie, im not demonizing. i was hungover for a morning a few weeks back. i would have that day been an improper choice for supervising a child. i am just saying that drugs used to dull pain (that are prescription strength) are often mind-limiting to the point that one could not adequately supervise a baby.
The article didn't say the grandparent was watching the baby. Not all drugs that dull pain have any effects on the brain. Ive been on a couple. I was actually able to take care of my son better on them, then I could off them.