"Over-the-Counter, doesn't mean it's totally safe."

More than two million times a year, the phone rings at one of the nationwide Poison Control Centers. And more than half the time, the person on the other end is a parent or caretaker of a child under the age of 6.
As much as all parents like to think their children are safe, South Carolina isn’t immune to the problem.
“We get around 36,000 calls a year,” says Christina DeRienzo, education coordinator of the Palmetto Poison Center in Columbia, “and, yes, more than half of those involve children.”

Any time of day, every day, volunteers and staff at the center are ready to assist those who face an unexpected crisis at the Pelmetto center, which is located at the S.C. College of Pharmacy.

The most common call is for overdoses of analgesics – Tylenol (acetaminophen), Motrin (ibuprofen) Ibuprofen, and aspirin – DiRienzo said, with poisonings from household cleaners coming in a second, cosmetics third and other exposures, including prescription drugs and insect and snakebites, lagging behind.

The over-the-counter medication problem has been a particularly vexing one for the centers and, as confirmed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent discussions about safe dosages for acetaminophen.
“You’re seeing a big push for more labeling and warnings on medications like that,” DiRienzo said. “People don’t realize there is acetaminophen in other medications, like over-the-counter cold remedies, and they wind up overdosing themselves.

“What people need to realize is that just because something is over-the-counter, it doesn’t mean it’s totally safe. They need to read the product label so they don’t take two products that contain the same medication, because they wind up taking far more than the recommended dosage.”

For young children, the problem is twofold. In addition to the possibility of their parents overmedicating them, DiRienzo said, they are prone to pick up anything that looks like candy and put it in their mouths.

“There are a lot of medications that appeal to children because of the color or shape,” she said. “They might think a pill is a Skittle or an M&M if it’s on the floor, and if it’s in a container they certainly can’t read the label. The best idea is to keep all medications – prescription or otherwise – high and way from the kids.”

The household dangers for children – and adults, for that matter – aren’t limited to medications. Everyday items like fingernail polish, perfume, toothpaste, common items in medicine cabinets and purses present potential problems to children, while pesticides and industrial cleaners can be deadly to children and adults alike.

And, there is Mother Nature, with such hazards to humans as snakes and spiders that can inflict bites that could be potentially fatal.

Despite the ready availability of the Poison Center, the vast majority of accidental poisonings never reach the attention of the staff until the situation is resolved without their intervention or the outcome turns lethal.

In 2006, DiRienzo said, the last year for which compiled statistics are available, there were 485 deaths in South Carolina alone from unintentional poisonings, a number that doesn’t include suicides or “adverse events” like industrial accidents.

Greenville County led the upstate that year in poisoning deaths with 66, followed by Spartanburg with 56. Pickens County had 26, Anderson County 17 and Oconee County 14.

“We don’t get conclusive reports from the coroners usually,” DiRienzo said, “but there’s no doubt that the danger is very real. We’re not here to make money – we’re non-profit. We’re just here to save lives.

The Palmetto Poison Center can be reached any time at 1-800-222-1222. It is a phone number every South Carolinian should keep handy at all times.