We're not sure how many small children die from mistaking medicine for candy, but the Centers for Disease Control say that approximately 30 children in the United States die every year from accidental poisonings. There are no statistics to tell us whether the children thought they were eating candy, but most of these accidents occur in the home.
Since most small children can't read, they're not going to see the warning signs on medication bottles. This information is written for adults, so it's up to you to keep your little ones safe from accidental poisoning. Since kids are attracted to bright colors, they are curious about the contents of medicine packages. For this reason, it is urgent to talk to your small children about the dangers of eating something they're not supposed to. Children love to imitate adults and often see their parents taking medicine. Sometimes children can confuse medicine with candy, and this is something you want to watch out for.

Here are some common medications and the candy they might be mistaken for:
Aspirin and Tic-Tacs
Mike and Ike's and DayQuil capsules
Excedrin capsules and Hot Tamales
Tums and throat lozenges
Pepto-Bismol and Sprees
Ex-Lax and a Hershey's candy bar
Dimetapp and a Hi-C drink


Between 2004 and 2005, an estimated 71,000 children under 18 years were seen in emergency departments each year because of medication poisonings. Over 80% of them were because an unsupervised child found and consumed medicines (FROM: Schillie SF, Shehab, N, Thomas, KE, Budnitz DS. Medication overdoses leading to emergency department visits among children. Am J Prev Med 2009;37:181-187).The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says that every 15 seconds in the United States a Poison Control Center gets a telephone call. Over half of the calls are made by an adult in regard to a child who has swallowed a potentially toxic substance. These substances include medicine, as well as common household chemicals.
To prevent a child from needlessly dying, never call medicine "candy" to entice them. Make sure all pill bottles have child resistant lids, and keep all medication out of their reach. And talk to your kids about the dangers of eating unknown objects.

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