Many adults may not realize the hazard of iron preparations. The Commission recommends that parents keep medicine with iron out of the reach of young children. Iron is available in combination with vitamins or alone. According to poison control center data, iron supplements are responsible for 30 percent of pediatric poisoning deaths from medications. A small number of iron pills consumed by a child can cause death.
Poisonings happen when children swallow their parents' iron pills.
CPSC recommends that obstetricians and gynecologists tell their maternity patients that prenatal medicine with iron is poisonous to children. Parents should always properly resecure safety closures. In addition, parents should keep medicines with iron out of the reach of children and should properly discard iron pills after use so children cannot reach them. Medicines should be discarded by flushing down the toilet, not in a wastebasket where children can find them. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction.