Alarming reaction to a simple medication

WHENEVER Alstonville mum Rochelle Penhey needs to give paracetamol to one of her children, she’s always careful to check the dosage.

“We use dissolvable tablets, but I check the dose every time,” she said.

“The dosage depends on the children’s ages and whether they’ve had any other medicines, like cough medicine or something.

“So I always read the back of the packet to make sure.”

But it seems not everyone is quite as careful.

New figures from the NSW Poisons Information Centre show it received more than 8000 calls about suspected paracetamol overdose last year.

And more than half of the cases were in children.

Health Minister John Della Bosca said accidential poisoning was a major concern.

“Of most concern is the amount of people, particularly children, who have ingested large doses of over-the-counter medicines,” he said.

“The number of calls relating to paracetamol has more than doubled in just four years, from 3847 in 2005 to 8067 last year.”

But many of these incidents could have been avoided, according to the Poison Centre’s deputy medical director, Naren Gunja.

He said medications should be locked away and kept out of reach of children.

Other tips include:
 Always follow the instructions on medicines and chemicals.
 Buy products in child-resistant containers AND
 Ensure all products are clearly labelled.
To contact the Poisons Information Centre, call 13 11 26.