March 21, 2012 — Roughly 165 young children in the U.S. are treated in the emergency departments every day after getting into medications, says a new report from Safe Kids Worldwide. That's more than 60,000 kids a year ages 5 and under who unintentionally take a medicine or overdose on it. Over the last 25 years, the poisoning death rate among American children ages 14 and under has steadily dropped. But during this same time period, the number of poisoning deaths linked to accidental medication poisoning has almost doubled from 36% in 1979 to about 64% in 2006. With more medications than ever available in homes, whether it's prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary supplements, this increases the chances a young person might accidentally swallow one of these products. It's not only that a child might see medicine bottles around the house more often. Our fast-paced lifestyles may also be at fault: Family members might forget to prop