1. An ER called requesting treatment advice regarding a 26 year old intoxicated male who was bit by his pet rattlesnake on the neck.  He was showing off the snake to his friends at a party and had placed it around his neck.
2. A 20 month old ingested a fingerful of Vaporub®.
3. A 39 year old female has accidentally taken a double dose of her cholesterol medication.
4. A child was found licking a doorknob after it had been sprayed with Lysol® disinfectant.
5. A 2 year old ingested one unburned firecracker snake.
6. A 32 year old male was prescribed high dose niacin tablet to help reduce his blood pressure.  After his first dose, his face flushed a deep red and he feels hot.
7. A man called because they had a new furnace installed.  Upon turning it on, he smelled a ‘burning smell’, wondering if this could be carbon monoxide or some other possibly toxic gas.
8. While siphoning radiator antifreeze (50% strength in radiator), the caller got a mouthful; she spit most out but swallowed some.
9. Caller wondering where he should dispose of some chemicals he found in his elderly parents’ shed.
10. A parent saw a TV program on child lead poisoning and wanted to know how kids are exposed to lead.
11. A 3 year old child ingested a swallow of pink RV radiator antifreeze containing propylene glycol.
12. Mom is a dentist, she was teaching her 4 year old how to floss; child bunched up the several inches of dental floss she was using, stuck it in her mouth and swallowed it.
13. A 2 year old got into the Triaminic® Thinstrips and ingested up to 3 Thinstrips.
14. A 24 year old male called with concerns on how much cough syrup he had taken.  He bought a 4 ounce bottle and had a ‘swig’ every few hours due to intractable coughing.  He has ingested the entire 4 ounce bottle during the past 12 hours and now feels ‘woozy’.
15. A grandparent called because she gave her grandson his heart medication approximately 90 minutes too soon.  He is supposed to get it every 12 hours.
16. Caller’s electricity was out for between 3-6 hours while she was at work.  Wondered if she should throw all the food in her fridge/freezer away.
17. Babysitter misread the label of child’s nighttime prescription for clonidine and instead of giving him ½ tablet, gave him 12 tablets.
18. Caller wanted to know if it is safe to use DEET insect repellant on his 3 year old child when they go on vacation.
19. A 93 year old patient at a nursing home was accidentally given another patient’s medications in addition to his own.  He was given 8 drugs he should not have received.
20. A father called about tater tots he had cooked in the oven; after his kids ate them, the caller realized there was a charred rat corpse in the oven

***IPC specialists also made 12 calls to homes and hospitals to follow up on the clinical course of patients we had been consulted on.

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