In brief...An iron overdose in young children can be fatal

An iron overdose in young children could be fatal, the Committee on Safety of Medicines has warned. It said solid dose dietary iron supplements accounted for 2 to 3 per cent of hospital admissions for accidental overdose in children aged nought to four. The Committee urged health professionals to remind parents and carers to keep iron tablets stored securely out of children's sight and reach, and said that product labels would be changed to carry a warning. Committee chairman Professor Alasdair Breckenridge said, 'If iron tablets are taken in overdose, the body's normal regulatory system fails and toxic amounts of...