Medicines, Vitamins & Supplements

Pills on a nightstand or kitchen counter between doses; a weekly pill organizer (many aren't child-resistant); gummy vitamins that look like candy; medicine in a purse, diaper bag, coat pocket or a visitor's bag; a cap that wasn't twisted until it clicked.

Keep medicines, vitamins and supplements up high, out of sight and, ideally, locked, and put them back right after every dose. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests locked cabinets or containers, such as a small lockbox, because no medicine container is fully childproof and children can open child-resistant caps. The Up & Away campaign (from PROTECT, first built with CDC) adds: keep medicine in its original child-resistant container, never call medicine candy, and ask visitors to keep bags and coats with medicine in them out of reach. If a child may have swallowed something, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (America's Poison Centers: free, confidential, 24/7), even if you're not sure. Call 911 if they collapse, have a seizure, have trouble breathing or can't be woken. Get rid of medicines you no longer need at a DEA year-round drop-off site or on a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. This answer stays on your device: we never save it to your account.