Flow regulators add extra protection against accidental overdoses in kids

Adding flow regulators to liquid medication bottles is an effective way to limit the amount of medication administered to children, according to a study published in TheJournal of Pediatrics.

Combined with existing child-resistant packaging, researchers found that flow regulators can add extra protection against accidental overdoses.

Researchers tested the device with 110 three- and four-year olds.  Each was given 10 minutes to remove liquid from uncapped bottles with flow regulators, or a control bottle without a regulator.

Almost all of the bottles without flow regulators (96%) were emptied within two minutes. By contrast, the children were only able to empty 6% of the bottles with flow regulators.

According to the study, every year poison control centers report approximately 500,000 incidents of accidental medication ingestion. The study researchers suggest that flow regulators be used as a secondary line of defense along with existing child-resistant packaging.