Tag: painkillers

Opioid pain relievers such as codeine and hydrocodone often aren’t stored safely in households with children, according to a new study.

About one in three parents with children under age 7 reported storing their opioid prescription by locking it up, and about one in 11 parents with children between ages 7 and 17 remembered storing their medicines properly.

"Parents know their children best and often think having medicine under lock and key isn’t necessary, especially as kids get older, but we’ve seen hospitalizations double since the 1990s," said lead study author Eileen McDonald of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy in Baltimore, Maryland.