� More than 200 million prescriptions are written annually for children and teenagers. That�s more than 3 prescriptions per child, per year.
� In any two-week period in the U.S., 13 million children take a prescription medicine.
� Studies show that 46% of children take their medicines incorrectly.
� More than 6 million children have chronic diseases that require medicines. The top five are:
Asthma (3,500,000)
Epilepsy (1,500,000)
Attention Deficit Disorders (800,000)
Arthritis (165,000)
Diabetes (120,000)
Many children take their medicines incorrectly even when the disease is serious. For example, 75% of asthma patients and 43% of epilepsy patient take their medicines incorrectly.
� Four most common mistakes children make with medicines are
1. Stopping too soon.
2. Taking too little.
3. Taking too much.
4. Refusing to take the medicine.
Parents should know the following things about the medicines their children take:
� What condition the medicine is for, and what it is supposed to do;
� How much to give
� If there are any side effects and what to do if they occur; and
� What to do if a dose is missed.
