Iron Poisoning and Children

An estimated 3,000 toddlers and young children each year overdose on iron after getting their hands on supplements or multivitamins that contain the mineral; however, fewer children are taking fatal overdoses.

Children under age 6 are recommended a daily intake of 10 milligrams of iron. Three-dozen 60-milligram tablets of iron, or 120 children's multivitamin pills with 15 to 18 milligrams of the mineral can kill a toddler. Even one-third of that amount can do serious harm.

Prior to 1985, roughly 1,200 children overdosed on iron each year, after that the number jumped to about 3,000 per year, peaking in 1991. Experts feel that government efforts to improve nutrition among poor mothers and their young children may have unintentionally caused the sudden rise in overdoses.

Anemia is a major problem among pregnant women, but can be easily prevented with supplements of iron. Marketing trends and nutritional counseling programs may have led to an abundance of iron supplement bottles in homes across the country.

In 1997, The Food and Drug Administration began requiring warning labels on iron supplements cautioning the risk of poisoning to children under the age of six. In addition, the agency required that most iron pills containing 30 milligrams or more of the mineral have "unit dose packaging," such as blister packs, so that it would be harder for small children to ingest more than one pill at a time. This regulation, however, does not cover children's multivitamin supplements with iron.

It is important to remember that children can gain access to the contents of childproof bottles, so keep them out of their reach. It is also important to remember not to refer to medication or vitamins as candy. Small children could confuse the two.

www.healthscout.com "Iron Poisoning Remains a Problem for Kids."