The Quebec Poison Control Centre says it has recorded, since the beginning of 2024, 39 deaths and approximately 800 poisonings with moderate to severe consequences that were linked to prescription or over-the-counter medications or natural health products.
“This worries us, because these figures are not negligible,” he said. Duty the DD Maude St-Onge, medical director of the Center. Of the approximately 800 poisonings, the vast majority involve people aged 13 to 69, but the youngest and oldest are not immune.
These could include errors in administering or taking medications, accidental poisoning in a child or substance abuse in a young person, she explains. “We have to remember that 72% of young people will start their first use of opioids with substances that are at home.”
The Quebec Poison Control Centre is therefore concerned about access to medications found at home, whether prescription or over-the-counter, but also to natural health products. In 2023, nearly half of the 52,000 calls made to the Centre were related to these different substances.
The DD St-Onge also reminds us that “just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.” It’s important to consult a pharmacist before using natural health products if you’re taking prescribed medication, she says. “There can be drug interactions between the two.”
Fortunately, of all calls for drug poisoning, about two-thirds are cases that people can safely manage at home with the help of the Centre’s professionals, says the doctor. “We are still able to reduce emergency room visits.”
A need for awareness
At home, Julie Daigle-Côté frequently reminds her 2-year-old daughter that “pills are not candy.” “Here, the watchword is that it can be very dangerous to take medication that is not intended for you,” says the 29-year-old. She keeps all types of medication in a locked cabinet.
This practice, however, appears to be uncommon: 85% of parents say they do not lock up their medications and keep them out of reach of their children on a regular basis, according to a 2023 Angus Reid survey of residents of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
“In most families, we will know where the alcohol is at home and how much there is in the bottles. We will also have had a conversation with our children about this. But for medications, we often leave them accessible in our medicine cabinet,” says Chantal Vallerand, Executive Director of Drug-Free Kids Canada.
It is important to make children aware of the risks of medication from a young age, says Mme Vallerand. As for teenagers, she suggests that adults approach the issue with them without being alarmist. “The idea is to reach out to young people by checking what they know about the subject, what their sources are, and to really treat it as a societal issue.”
Reduce quantities
To reduce the risk of poisoning, DD Maude St-Onge recommends that we do not buy medications in large packages. “It has been clearly demonstrated that limiting access to the quantity will reduce the severity of poisoning. So it may not be trivial, it can prevent us from ending up in intensive care.”
As for the pills prescribed to children and adolescents, they can be placed in a pillbox on which the days of the week are written, advises Audrée Elliott, pharmacist at the Quebec Poison Control Centre. “That way, they don’t forget to take them every other day and they don’t have access to the entire month.”
In order to avoid accumulating medications, it is also recommended to sort them at least once a year, emphasizes Alain Renard, director of management programs at the Association for the Recovery of Health Products. Those that are unused or expired must be returned to the pharmacy, he indicates.
A significant portion of Quebecers and Canadians are unaware that medications should not be thrown in the trash, down the sink or down the toilet, continues Mr. Renard. “Unfortunately, there could be effects on nature, on animal species and on water quality. There is an environmental pollution problem linked to the recovery of medications,” he adds.