Poison!
By: Nancy | May 15, 2008 | Category: Health
I wandered into the house one day at the age of three, announcing to my mom that I'd just eaten a bud from one of the plants in her garden. The stunt earned me an ambulance ride to the hospital with my mom and a Raggedy Andy doll from my dad—a bribe to get me to take the medicine that was going to make me "return" the flower bud. To my horror and to everyone else's relief, it worked.
Now, who knows why I did that? I didn't even like vegetables and there I was, chowing down on touch-me-nots in the flower bed. Kids and pets can be way more inquisitive about stuff that's not good for them than we might anticipate. Plan now so you'll know what to do later in a poisoning emergency.
Start by printing out this chart to help you in the first moments after there's been a poisoning. I just hung up a copy here at Gov Gab headquarters.
If someone's unconscious or not breathing after being exposed to poison, call 911. If they've swallowed something, call the American Association of Poison Control Centers at 1 (800) 222-1222 before doing anything else. And if they've gotten something in their eyes or on their skin, get them started flushing the area with running water before you call. This toll-free number connects you directly to someone at your local poison control center where they can talk you through what to do next.
We could all probably rattle off the ways to prevent poisoning, from reading the directions on packaging to keeping pesticides, medications, cleaners and other poisons out of kids' and pets' reach. But in the busyness of daily life, it's easy to forget to close a cabinet door all the way or to immediately put away a bottle of cleaner. Even as adults, it's easy for us to mix up medicine bottles, tubes of gel and bottles of liquid when we're in a hurry or distracted or when the lights are dim and we don't have our glasses on.
Consider looking around your house tonight to see what medications, cleaners and other non-edibles need to be moved up out of reach or labeled better to keep your family safe from accidental poisoning.
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We welcome your comments and expect that our conversation will follow the general rules of respectful civil discourse. This is a moderated blog, and we will only post comments from bloggers over 13 years of age that relate to topics on Gov Gab: Your U.S. Government Blog. We will review comments for posting within one business day. You are fully responsible for everything that you submit in your comments, and all posted comments are in the public domain. We do not discriminate against any views, but we reserve the right not to post comments.
Kudos to the author of this blog.
I would be happy to see a blog on the use of artificial sweeteners, specifically Aspartame and their association of toxic symptoms of diseases normally considered incurable but relieved when the use of the sweetener is discontinued.
ethela31
Posted by Unknown on May 15, 2008 at 09:25 AM EDT #
Thank you for the chart. I have forwarded it on to all family members.
A suggestion for a future Gov-Gab: I was hoping to see a link of common plants that are poisonous, and the degree (needs medical attention asap; no harm, just nausea; etc). It would be helpful to have a thumbnail photo with each plant, possibly having links to better descriptions.
Thanks for the new Gov-Gab, great to read a human voice, lol!
Posted by itsa_me_dfa on May 15, 2008 at 02:36 PM EDT #
First is hiccups. If you take a mouth full of water (DON'T SWALLOW YET) and bend at the waist until your body is in the shape of an upside down capital 'L', THEN SWALLOW! They WILL be gone! I have NEVER seen this fail! TRY IT!
Next is BRAIN FREEZE! Simply put your tongue on the roof of your mouth ~ and IT'S GONE!
Then the BIG ONE: GETTING STUCK! This happened to me on Daytona Beach not too long ago. The Beach Patrol came out with their shovels to assist me before I had a chance to even get out of my car! I informed them I didn't "need them" ~ They didn't take too well to that, especially since I'm a woman! Well I got my front floor mats out and put them behind my rear tires (I had rear wheel drive) and I was IMMEDIATELY free! They stood in dis-belief! I bet to this day they REMEMBER ME!
I also keep a couple of old beach towels in my trunk all the time just in case I need more traction. But I never have!
That's all, just 3 simple but VERY important hints to help your readers!
Diane Noe from Tampa Florida
Posted by dianesclothesline on May 17, 2008 at 05:59 AM EDT #
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/badplants/poisonplants.htm
Posted by Citizen Jmaximus on May 17, 2008 at 02:08 PM EDT #