INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO/Indiana News Service):  Medications are intended to keep families healthy, but if used improperly, they can lead to life threatening situations.

A new report from Safe Kids Worldwide says each year, more than 59,000 children are taken to an emergency room after getting into medicine.

The group’s president and CEO, Kate Carr, says that’s one child every 9 minutes, and sometimes the visit involves the ingestion of other health-related products.

“Vitamins or diaper rash cream – there are a lot of products that are around and, if a child can get into them, they can in some cases be quite serious, requiring a hospital room visit or, in some cases, leading to a fatality,” she points out.

According to the report, nearly half the time a child got into a medication, it belonged to a grandparent. Carr advises anyone with children around to be diligent about keeping medicines out of sight and out of reach of little ones.

If a poisoning of any kind is suspected, call the Indiana Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.