From: AAS Health Office
Self-medication during the summer months
Not so long ago, an emergency happened in Hopewell.
Seven children, four of whom were under four years old, overdosed on anxiety medication. The police found out that the doctors prescribed pills to one of the older children, who "shared" the medicines with his siblings when the parents briefly left the house. The adults returned and found that the four younger ones were unconscious, and the three older ones were sluggish. All the children were taken to a local hospital.
This story prompted us to try to find out from what age a child can be entrusted with his own treatment without fear that he will poison himself, or, as in the example above, share medicines with others.
Children with asthma, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and severe allergies learn to take their medications on their own early if they lead a normal social life — go to school, attend excursions and camps.
If we are talking about taking medications regularly by the hour, the medications are given to the school doctor or nurse, along with instructions from the attending physician on how to take them.
Please, note that self-medicating is NOT acceptable at AAS.
According to Article 20 of Federal Law No. 323-ФЗ "On the basics of protecting the health of citizens in Of the Russian Federation" dated November 21, 2011, children who have reached the age of 15 have the right to voluntary informed consent to medical intervention or refusal of it. But the age at which a child independently has the right to take medications is not prescribed in the law.
For the summer, when children are not on campus, there might be a time when self-medication is inevitable.
There are a number of serious chronic diseases that require regular medication — including at a time when parents are not around and cannot be.
Children need to be taught the correct handling of medicines from an early age, so that by the time they need to take their own medications, the child is ready for this.
Take medications seriously
From an early age, tell your child that treatment is a serious matter that requires precision. Do not call pills sweets. Explain that although they may have a pleasant taste, these things are intended for treatment and should be taken in certain doses.
Talk to children about this topic
Tell your child about medications, encourage questions — do everything to gain authority in this area. Try not to get confused in prescriptions and not to show an example of a careless attitude to pills — strictly follow your prescription in front of children, for example.
Take doctor's prescriptions responsibly
If the doctor prescribed something to the child, do not add something you think might help to the treatment regimen. If you are not sure about the prescriptions, contact another specialist to get a second opinion and adjust the treatment regimen that you doubt.
Teach your child to read the instructions
In a situation when something hurts, children take a pill, if it does not work, they take a couple more, it is not uncommon. And, because of this, children regularly end up in the hospital, overdosing. Teenagers think "the more, the better." They often think they are invincible and immortal.
The first thing you need to teach your child is to read the instructions before using any medication in order to know the method of use, dosage and side effects. In addition, you should explain that no drug works instantly.
Medication cannot be shared
Tell the children about allergies and intolerances — even the most harmless gummy vitamins can cause severe anaphylactic shock in someone.
You cannot give your pills to anyone, even if the symptoms seem similar, and the drug is over-the-counter. Moreover, prescription medications, such as sleeping pills and heart medications absolutely should not be shared.
Teach your child to mind the dosage
Two points are important here. First, tell them about the one-time amount of medication that they can take without harm. Secondly, tell them about the active substance: it is what is important, not the brand name of the drug. Explain that if you take two different medications containing the same active substance, you may overdose. This often happens with paracetamol, which is both in tablets, and in antipyretic powders. And, if you don't know this, you can cause serious damage to your own health.
Herbs are also medicines, and they also have a dosage
If a child is prescribed some herbal tea, observe the dosage in this case as well. Phytotherapy requires accuracy, even if it seems that it is unrealistic to poison yourself with chamomile tea.
Medicines for adults and medicines for children are different
Explain to the child that drugs intended for children differ in dosage, so even if there is a similar medicine at hand, but for adults, he should not take it without permission. Remember that some pills, even if they help you, are strictly forbidden for children at a certain age.
Make sure that children know how to call an ambulance
The ability to contact emergency services is important in itself, and not only in case of overdosing. After all, a child may witness some kind of incident that requires medical intervention. It is important that children are able to call an ambulance from a mobile and landline phone. From a mobile phone in Russia, you can call doctors by numbers "003" and "112”.
What parents need to remember
It is important to remember that no matter how independent and mature their child is, the responsibility for his/her health still lies with the parents, so:
- Keep medicines out of the reach of children
- You are responsible for replenishing their prescription
- Children can be forgetful
In the Russian Federation, there are no clear laws on how children and adolescents can purchase medicines in pharmacies.
If a child has chronic diseases and needs to take medications during school hours, then parents should inform the school nurse about this and transfer the medications to the Health Office with instructions from the attending physician describing exactly how, at what time, and in what dosage to give the drug.
During school hours the responsibility for the child's life lies with the school, the same situation applies to sports sections, clubs, camps (if you have to take medications during your stay there).
Outside of institutions, parents are responsible for the child.
Thank you for your commitment to keep our students and the AAS community healthy and safe!
The AAS Health Office Team.