“Granny’s Purse Syndrome” Is Something All Parents Should Know About

Visiting family is one of the joys of the holiday season. (Well, hopefully.) Distant loved ones gathering together to make merry and carry on beloved family traditions is part of what makes this time of year special. But our favorite TikTok pediatrician Meghan Martin (aka @Beachgem10) wants caregivers to be on their guard for a common safety concern that might be more present during the holidays than usual.

“If you are spending time with family for the holidays, it’s important to know about something called ‘Granny Syndrome’ or ‘Granny’s Purse Syndrome,’” she says. “This is when young kids get into their grandparents’ medications that are not secured properly.”

There are plenty of reasons, she continues, that grandparents don’t have their medications secured. For one thing, they’re not used to having children around, so the idea of kids getting into their things doesn’t strike them the way it would a parent who knows exactly how chaotic their toddler is. Medicines are therefore left on low counters or in purses. Medications may not be in child resistant containers — it could be they’ve been placed in a pill organizer, or their prescription container itself is not child resistant as it could make an arthritic or otherwise less dexterous person unable to open their own prescription.

But while all these reasons are, well, reasonable, the issue remains a dire one.

“Around 20% of poisonings in young kids are related to accidental ingestions of grandparents’ medications,” Martin says. (We’ve checked this, and according to at least one recent study, this is indeed true.)

Moreover, these medications can be dangerous. Pain pills, blood pressure or diabetes medications can have a disastrous effect on any person ingesting them who shouldn’t. But this problem is worse for children. “Because kids’ body size is so small in comparison to an adult body size, even one pill can be a toxic ingestion for these kids,” Martin explains.

The Good Doctor has some suggestions to help families avoid calling 911 or poison control (1-800-222-1222) this holiday season.

• Make sure that medications are locked up and secure, not kept in backpacks, purses, or suitcases.
• Don’t take medications in front of kids. (“Kids want to mimic what adults do.”)
• Never refer to medication as candy. Kids will think you’re being literal (like so many tiny Amelia Bedelias...)
• Don’t forget that over-the-counter medications should also be secured where children can’t access them.

We know you already have a lot of things to worry about this time of year. Will Meemaw really be comfortable on the pullout couch in the den? How over-budget is too over-budget when it comes to gifts? And where on Earth are you going to put that one super loud enormous toy from your in-laws that you specifically asked them not to get? But the value of this precaution cannot be overstated.