APRIL 11 — A 1½-year-old girl entered the hospital’s emergency department near midnight due to salbutamol ingestion (a near bottle full). She saw the "cough” medicine served to her sister, and she stood on a chair and reached for the medication kept in a cabinet. This is the third accidental drug ingestion in the last five days. Earlier on, a 3-year-old boy with possible autism took his uncle’s pill for a chronic infection which was left on a table. Another 2-year-old boy with global developmental delay took a bottle of poorly capped eucalyptus oil. The medication splashed over the face when it tipped over. He turned cyanosed, accompanied by rapid breathing and drowsiness. The child soon developed pneumonitis (inflammation of the lung tissue because of inhalation).

These accidents have become the by-products of the movement control order (MCO). We are unsure of how many accidents of this kind have occurred in the country, especially now we know people are avoiding an emergency department or a clinic.

But this does not come to us as a surprise. We know that home accidents (including accidental ingestion of drugs and poisons) are common among the young children. During the past month of MCO, children have been forced to stay at home with their parents who have to work from home. This may create a problem, as children who are normally cared for in a preschool, nursery or by a babysitter are potentially less supervised. The safety of this vulnerable group may have been neglected.

We are uncertain how long the MCO will go on for, but for sure, life is not the same. Children may not be able to attend a nursery or a babysitter, and parents may be asked to continue to work from home for some time. It is good to pay attention and learn strategies on childhood injuries prevention.

Preventive measures