MONDAY, Nov. 3, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Parents have long been told to keep a small bottle of syrup of Ipecac in the house to induce vomiting in case their children accidentally swallow a poisonous substance.
But in a policy statement issued in the November issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is recommending that parents don't keep Ipecac in the house any longer because it's not an effective treatment for poisoning.
Instead, the pediatric group is emphasizing poison prevention, and telling parents and caregivers to call their local poison control center -- (800) 222-1222 in the United States -- if they suspect a child has ingested a toxic or poisonous substance.
"Syrup of Ipecac should not be used routinely in the home," says Dr. Milton Tenenbein, lead author of the policy statement and a member of the AAP's Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention. "It doesn't do what we thought it would do."
"Research over the last 10 years has shown that when someone vomits, the stomach is not completely emptied," says Tenenbein. And, he says, the material that tends to stay in the stomach is exactly the type of thing that needs to be expelled, such as pills.
Findings from a study in the same issue of Pediatrics confirm the recommendations in the new policy statement. In the study, researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center looked at data from more than 750,000 young children who had ingested a poison in 2000 or 2001. The researchers found no difference in outcomes for children who received Ipecac at home versus those who didn't.
In the policy statement, the AAP committee recommends that parents don't administer Ipecac in case of poisoning. In fact, the panel recommends that parents safely dispose of any Ipecac in the house. The committee doesn't recommend replacing Ipecac with activated charcoal, either. It does suggest that parents or caregivers call poison control in case of poisoning and that parents and caregivers emphasize poison prevention.
"An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure," Tenenbein says.
The policy statement contains specific recommendations for poison prevention, including:
- Keep poisons out of sight and locked up.
- Leave the child-safety devices on all medications and make sure they're on securely after using them.
- Don't call medicine "candy."
- Leave substances in their original containers.
- Dispose of all unneeded medications, but do it safely.
- Post the poison control number near your telephones.
Dr. David Annunziato, director of pediatric education at Nassau University Medical Center in New York, doesn't disagree with the new AAP policy. But he believes Ipecac has saved some lives.
He notes that Ipecac could, however, be a problem in a household where a teenager has an eating disorder, such as bulimia.
Annunziato also believes prevention is key, particularly in places where you might not even think about it, such as a grandparent's home.
"The one thing that's predictable about children is that they're unpredictable," he says. "They'll pile up books just to get to the high shelves."
So, he recommends buying child-safety latches for your cabinet doors and keeping all medications and cleaning products in cabinets with safety devices.
More information
To learn more about preventing childhood poisoning, read this article from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or visit the University of Michigan Health System.
