According to a recent report by the CDC, each year in the United States more than 71,000 children age 18 and younger are seen in emergency rooms for unintentional overdoses of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It also reported that about one out of every 180 two-year-olds visits an emergency department for a medication overdose each year.
Michael Rebando, a Long Island locksmith of two decades, experienced a near-tragic incident in which his four-year-old niece was rushed to the hospital after unknowingly consuming over-the-counter medication accidentally left on the kitchen counter. After conducting his own research, Rebando discovered that in addition to the alarming number of toddler incidents, a reported 2.1 million teens are abusing prescription drugs annually and more than a third of the prescription drugs illegally obtained by teens come from their own homes.
In an effort to help parents keep their meds safely secured and their children out of harm’s way, Rebando developed an electronic lock-box called MedSafe, which debuted this week. Fitting easily into most existing medicine cabinets and holding up to 15 bottles of prescription medicine, the state-of-the-art lock-box features 19,500 changeable combinations and is the perfect tool in keeping potentially harmful meds out of the hands of children. The MedSafe can be easily affixed to the inside of any medicine cabinet with four self-tapping screws included with each unit, and can also be stored in a dresser drawer, kitchen cabinet or closet shelf.
A portion of each unit sold will support teen prescription drug abuse awareness programs through non-profits such as D.A.R.E. The product is presently available at www.helpsaveourkids.com for $49.95, and will soon be available in retail outlets nationwide.
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