- 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.
- A 20 month old ingested a fingerful of Vaporub®.
- A 39 year old female has accidentally taken a double dose of her cholesterol medication.
- A child was found licking a doorknob after it had been sprayed with Lysol® disinfectant.
- A 2 year old ingested one unburned firecracker snake.
- 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.
- 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.
- While siphoning radiator antifreeze (50% strength in radiator), the caller got a mouthful; she spit most out but swallowed some.
- Caller wondering where he should dispose of some chemicals he found in his elderly parents’ shed.
- A parent saw a TV program on child lead poisoning and wanted to know how kids are exposed to lead.
- A 3 year old child ingested a swallow of pink RV radiator antifreeze containing propylene glycol.
- 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.
- A 2 year old got into the Triaminic® Thinstrips and ingested up to 3 Thinstrips.
- 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’.
- 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.
- 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.
- Babysitter misread the label of child’s nighttime prescription for clonidine and instead of giving him ½ tablet, gave him 12 tablets.
- Caller wanted to know if it is safe to use DEET insect repellant on his 3 year old child when they go on vacation.
- 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.
- 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.
This is only 1 hour of the day; click here to read the rest.