Four tiny hands, 85 melatonin gummies and two mouths full of trouble: This is the story of two curious 3-year-old cousins who were up past their bedtime cruising the kitchen for some late-night snacks. When they found a big bottle of gummies, they went for it. Little did they know those seemingly delicious candies were … more
Your emergency department patient ingested an unknown amount of an unidentified over-the-counter analgesic. Your toddler took a bite out of your deodorant stick. You accidentally took your mother’s heart medication instead of your allergy medicine. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Oops, wrong blog. Let’s try that again. Who you gonna call? The Illinois Poison Center … more
While the flu always has the potential to be deadly, you may not know about a hidden danger lurking in your medicine cabinet, especially during cold and flu season: acetaminophen (Tylenol). Acetaminophen is a common drug for treating flu symptoms, like fever and chills, muscle and body aches, headaches, and sore throats. Acetaminophen, however, can’t … more
A 38 year old woman got out of the shower, did not have her glasses on and reached for her aerosol spray deodorant but instead used Scrubbing Bubbles. A 23 year old female was brought to the ER after confessing to her mother that she had ingested several handfuls of her medication.
A 2 year old ingested an unknown amount of moisturizing body butter. A father called; when he went to check on his sleeping 11 month old son on his way to bed, he found that the baby had pulled off his diaper and eaten some of the absorbent diaper material inside.
A woman called because she had reached into her bathroom cabinet in the dark for a tube of personal lubricant and accidentally used toothpaste instead. A 5 year old ingested up to 10 of his own Singulair.
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 placed it around his neck. A father called after cooking tater tots in the oven; after his kids ate … more
An ER called requesting treatment advice regarding a 74 year old female ingested unknown amount of diltiazem and metformin A 4 year old inadvertently brushed his teeth with Bengay muscle rub instead of toothpaste.
Caller took a beer out of the minbar in a hotel and quickly realized after one swig that it was urine. Someone had drunk the beer, then filled it with urine and put it back to avoid being charged. A mother called after finding her 2 year old son chewing on an AA battery he … more
After playing basketball, an 18 year old male took two large swigs from a Gatorade bottle that he found in his friend’s Jeep. Turns out it was windshield wiper fluid the friend had transferred to the smaller bottle to make it more portable. While crawling in the kitchen, a 10 month old bit into a … more
A mother called because her 18 year old son was dared to drink a bottle of hot sauce. He developed significant vomiting and diarrhea. A 37 year old male inadvertently took two of his daughter’s Depakote tablets, thinking they were Tylenol.
A caller was trying to unclog a stubborn drain and poured drain cleaner and bleach into the sink at the same time. He immediately began having nose and eye burning and coughing.
A 3 year old child ingested a mouthful of calamine lotion. A 2 year old got into grandmother’s pill box and may have ingested up to one each of lisinopril, prednisone and atorvastatin.
An ER called regarding two adult patients who presented with bluish tinged skin (cyanosis). They had made their own beef jerky at home and had added 5 times too much sodium nitrate as a preservative. A preschool teacher would like to have someone from IPC to come out and give a poison prevention lecture to … more
A mom called, she is visiting her friend (who uses e-cigarettes) and found her 2 year old sucking the liquid out of the E-cigarette device. An adult caller was using a Brillo pad to clean a stain on his underwear. As a result of vigorously scrubbing, some of the Brillo cleanser flew into his eye.
An elderly man called because a drain opener splashed into his eyes when he poured it into a clogged drain. A 5 year old accidentally super glued his finger in his nose.
An ER called for assistance with an adult male who was pulled unconscious from a tank he had been cleaning at his worksite. A toddler ingested a mouthful of acetone nail polish remover.
A 3 year old child ingested an entire roll of Rolaids. A 23 year old woman is in the ER because she had been using an outdoor pesticide (chlorpyrifos) inside her house repeatedly over the past week. She is experiencing symptoms of dizziness and drowsiness.
A 14 month old child took a bite out of his mother’s deodorant stick. Mom was able to remove most of the material from his mouth but he swallowed some. A 2 year old child ingested an unknown number of gummy vitamins.
An 11 month old child was playing with the tube of diaper cream while his father changed his diaper. He bit into the tube and ingested a mouthful of the cream. EMS called because they are transporting a patient found by his wife; she woke up this morning to find that he was on the … more
Want to know what it is like to work at a poison center? Ever wonder just what type of calls we receive? All of these calls are typical of the type of calls the IPC gets on any given day. They are presented in a simulated call timeframe and details have been changed to protect … more
If you are a babysitter/sitter/nanny, or ever entrust your precious progeny to one of them, then this article is for you. About half of the IPC’s 75,000 exposures every year involve kids age 5 and under, and more than 90% of all exposures happen in the home. I think we all would agree that keeping … more
The blog series “My Child Ate…” continues with us taking a look at the top ten things children are getting into around the house. Each year, poison centers receive over one million calls involving children ages five and under. Have you ever wondered what in the world kids are getting into? Well check out our … more
Welcome to the IPC’s second installment of the “my child ate…” blog series. Last week Mike explored the dangers of prescription medications, and this week I am going to talk about stuff kids eat that is really, really gross. Like poop, for example. Do kids really eat poop, you may ask? They sure do. All … more
There is a burgeoning fascination with the strange things children eat. If one were to do an internet search on the three words “my child ate”, it looks like a lot of children are eating Tums, poop (yes, poop, human and pet), pennies, crayons, deodorant and a host of household products.
