US Schoolchildren Having Seizures From Over-the-Counter Drugs

The number of children suffering from seizures after swallowing medications and illegal substances in the U.S. has doubled between 2009 and 2023, new research reveals.

Over-the-counter antihistamines were among the most common substances involved in these adverse events, along with prescription antidepressants, painkillers and illegal synthetic cannabinoids.

“Seizure is one of the most severe symptoms a poisoned patient can experience, and children are particularly vulnerable,” Conner McDonald of the University of Virginia School of Medicine told the European Emergency Medicine Congress, where these findings were announced.

“Depending on variables such as where a seizure happens, how long it continues and the preexisting health of the child, seizures can lead to long-term damage or even death,” McDonald said.

The researchers analyzed data from the National Poison Data Center, which brings together information from 55 poison centers across the country. Christopher Holstege, chief of the division of medical toxicology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and his colleagues investigated all of the incidents of seizures in children resulting from exposure to a single substance between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2023.

Overall, the team found that cases had increased from 1,418 in 2009 to 2,749 in 2023. Among children between the ages of 6 and 19, the number of cases had doubled.

“The increase in seizures in children exposed to these drugs is extremely worrying and must be addressed,” Holstege said in a statement. “It’s a stark reminder to parents and carers to store medications safely so that children cannot get hold of them.”

The most common substances identified in these poisonings were:

• Dipenhydramine—an over-the-counter antihistamine commonly used for hay fever and nasal congestion
• Tramadol—an opioid prescribed for pain in adults
• Bupropion—an antidepressant
• Spice or K2—names given to an illegal synthetic cannabinoid

“Diphenhydramine can be purchased in the United States in bottles containing 500 or 600 tablets,” McDonald said. “Bupropion is being more frequently prescribed to treat depression in adults and children. Other legal and illegal drugs can be bought online and shipped around the world. Therefore, these drugs are becoming more available in homes and within the reach of children.”

Holstege added: “In the U.S., we also need to have a serious discussion on whether products like diphenhydramine should be sold in containers with such large quantities of pills and whether these products should be contained within blister packs to make it more difficult for children and suicidal individuals to gain access to such a large quantity.”

Aside from policy reviews, it is essential that medications be kept out of reach of children.

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