Practicing Safe Storage of Medications & Other Substances

Department of Children and Families Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes
July 21, 2021
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), roughly 50,000 young children per year are hospitalized due to accidental ingestion of prescription and adult-use only medications. This statistic is entirely preventable. 

That is why the State of Connecticut has launched a campaign this week to remind families with young children to properly store dangerous medications.
 
 
State law mandates that substances that can be harmful for children be safely stored to protect children from accidentally ingesting them.
 
Here are some tips to make sure you and your family are practicing safe storage of medications:
  • Lock all prescriptions and adult use only substances in a cabinet, safe, or private drawer. Choose a location that is secure and inaccessible to children and others for whom a drug is not intended.
  • Keep medications stored out of the reach of children
  • Store prescriptions and adult use substances in their original containers
  • Bring unwanted, unused, or expired medications to a drug takeback location
  • Require family members, houseguests, and other visitors to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicine or drugs in them out of sight and reach when they are in your home.

To promote the proper disposal of unwanted medications, Connecticut has drop boxes available across the state for people to anonymously dispose of medications, which helps protect not only children from accessing prescription drugs, but also adults from taking medications that may have expired. For a full list of drop box locations in Connecticut, click HERE. Many pharmacies and health centers will also take back unused or expired medication, including controlled substances. Click HERE to find a permanent take-back location near you.

If your child does ingest a potentially harmful substance, call the Connecticut Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. For additional information on the State's initiative, click HERE.