LOS ANGELES — Medical experts from Cedars-Sinai are urging parents to discuss fentanyl and its risks with their children and teenagers. Despite increased attention on the nationwide surge in fentanyl poisoning deaths, most children’s overdoses are accidental and often occur because they were unaware of what they were consuming.
“Every day, I see patients who come in, and when we talk about what it is that happened to them, many of them are surprised because they had no idea that fentanyl was in what they ingested,” said Sam Torbati, MD, co-chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and medical director of the Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department.
Cedars-Sinai Newsroom has provided a video featuring Dr. Torbati and Dr. Itai Danovitch, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, to understand the lethal nature of fentanyl and ways parents can prevent overdoses by educating their children about it.
Emily’s Hope has launched a prevention curriculum for elementary school children to teach them in age-appropriate ways the dangers of substances such as fentanyl. You can learn more about our curriculum here.
