I woke up this morning after having the strangest dream I think I’ve ever had…I dreamed that I accidentally drank some bleach! Yuk! Yuk! Yuk! Why did I dream about drinking Clorox? I have NO idea. But, I have a part of my brain that says, “every thing happens for a reason.” So in light of that, I would much rather the “reason” for having such a bizarre dream, be for me to review what I know about poison/poison control, instead of needing the information and not knowing it…
When I went to the American Association of Poison Control Centers to read/investigate, I learned some things I didn’t know – so I’m sharing – I hope I’m the only one who didn’t know some of this information, but just in case…here you go.
First, if you think someone has been poisoned, contact your Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 immediately.
Now, what I learned this morning is that there is now a whole slew of experts who no longer recommend that parents keep ipecac at home. According to National Capital Poison Control, ipecac does not really help. It will make you throw up, whether or not you have swallowed a poison. But, some folks have researched, and found out that people who took ipecac, did not do any better than those who did not take it. In fact, they found out ipecac syrup can:
- Cause adverse reactions to poisonings that cause seizures, and poisonings that cause contact burns.
- Be dangerous to some people with certain medical issues.
- Cause fatal heart problems in chronic users, and when it’s in the home, more and more people with eating disorders were abusing it.
- Caused people to throw up medications they needed to combat the poisoning.
Read this for a quick review of First Aid for Poisoning.
— Now you know.
As licensed foster parents, we’re pretty good about having all poisonous things locked up. But, because they are locked up, we think we’re safe. We’ve never really talked to the boys about ingesting them. Hmmm, sounds like a teachable moment…The first thing I thought of was Mr. Yuk:
But, since he’s no longer on the air, my “mommy brain” looked for other ways to teach them about poisons and how to respond to them. I found a children’s Activity Workbook . I found a song for the kiddos too. But, this place had the best downloads for teaching about poisons.
I hope I don’t ever need this, but I feel better now that I’ve reviewed the information. Now, I have to go. I need to go teach Woody and Tigger about what I’ve learned this morning.
