This season of illness has taken my family and I on a never ending roller coaster. When we are getting over one illness, we would catch another. Our family have been using over the counter medications to combat the flu, COVID-19, and seasonal allergies. However during this time of trying to get better, my one year old found a bottle of ibuprofen. Read on to see how I managed the situation, what signs of ibuprofen overdose I looked for, and what I did to prevent the situation from happening again.
How My Son Had Access to Ibuprofen
Since my daughter started school, it has been very easy for my family to get sick. Sometimes I find myself more sick than my family. However when you are the mother, there is no such thing as being sick. I was battling a head cold and allergies. I was alternating between acetaminophen and ibuprofen to stay functional. I left the ibuprofen on the couch and totally forgot that I did not put it back in the medicine cabinet.
I left the room for a moment and when I came back my son had all the pills emptied out the bottle playing with them. He even had some in his mouth. I immediately gathered up all the pills and began counting them. It was a new bottle and I only took a few. However I couldn’t remember how many I took. I did not have time to waste. I googled poison control and told them what happened. As I began telling the nurse what happened, I began to break down. How could I have been so careless not to have put such a potentially deadly item away? The nurse reassured me that I did but everything right, however, that did not stop me from putting myself down.
The nurse was very helpful and began to walk me through the process we would take to make sure that my son received the proper treatment. She informed me that his blood would need to be drawn in exactly four hours and informed me of the signs of ibuprofen overdose. She reassured me that mistakes happened and that this moment did not defined my entire motherhood even though it seemed like it did.
After briefing me, the nurse called the hospital informed them of my arrival in four hours. Waiting that long felt like a lifetime. I did not immediately take my son to the hospital because he did not show any obvious signs of ibuprofen overdose. The poison control nurse asked me a series of questions and she determined that he did not need immediate medical care.
I was watching my son attentively to see if his behavior changed. However it didn’t. He was his playful and adventurous self. We made it to the hospital and my son’s condition still did not change. We were put into a room almost immediately upon our arrival. My son and daughter ate snacks and watched television to pass the time.
At exactly four hours after the suspected ingestion of ibuprofen, the staff at the hospital took a blood sample from my son. Miraculously, he did not ingest any of the medication. We were discharged and sent home with information on how to prevent future incidents. I was more than relieved and thankful. However after such a scare I was determined to not let this situation happen again.
Why Childproofing is Important
Making sure that your home is safe for your child lowers the chances of them having an incident similar or worse than our experience. Making sure that all medication is out of reach of young children and adolescents can decrease the chances of them having an overdose or even worse. Make sure all medications are stored in a secure place such as a locked medicine cabinet or closet.
Signs of Ibuprofen Overdose in Children
Knowing the signs of ibuprofen overdose in children can help you identify the problem and get your child the care they need. If you are unsure if your child has ingested medication, contact poison control immediately or 9-1-1. Here are some signs of ibuprofen overdose in children:
- Diarrhea
- Drooling
- Vomiting
- Profuse Sweating
- Stomachache
If you suspect that your child has ingested something that shouldn’t have, seek medical attention immediately. It is difficult to keep up with a very active toddler and mistakes will happen. Your parenting will not be judge based on a mistake, it will be judged on how you handled the situation.
