This is topic ...and this is why I have the Poison Control Centers hotline memorized. in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
I went to recontainerize the soup we had for dinner, and left Princess playing in the living room. When I looked up, she was gone. When I got to her, she was sitting on the bathroom floor-- and had the toothpaste open and in her mouth! She wasn't acting sick or anything, but of course I freaked out. (I also had a guilt attack because I usually keep it way out of her reach, but went to bed late last night and must have forgotten.) So I called Poison Control, and after 10 rings, a man with a very calm voice picked up, asked questions that got right to the point, and made me feel much better. (It would have taken much more than she got before it's something to worry about, and possible stomach side effects can be taken care of with milk or Tums-- Tums for her, since she's not so good on the milk, maybe a little lactose intolerant.)

That calm, reassuring, non-judgemental voice was exactly what I needed to hear after my baby ate something toxic while my husband is 1500 miles away! I am so glad that hotline is available, and so glad I had it memorized, and didn't even have to think-- just took away the toothpaste, ran for the phone, and dialed. It also helps that the number (1-800=222-1222) is super-easy to remember in a crisis.

(Princess is fine. She's crawling and climbing around like nothing happened. I'm still trying not to cry.)

So, sorry. Jeff's not here, and I can't call him, so I just needed to vent really bad. *relieved*
 

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Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
 
*whew!*

So glad everything is alright.

I know it's hard when our partners are away and we have to be the only adults in the house. :/ Just having someone else around to freak out with us when something happens is comforting. Or calm us down. I guess having someone around to calm us down is better. Heh.

Anyway, hang in there. You did everything correctly! Yay!
 

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Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
 
Daniel did the exact same thing once, many moons ago. I felt guilty, too.

Nobody's perfect, and it could have been much worse. Don't beat yourself up, just keep it put up from now on.

Also, don't be surprised if they call you back in a few hours to make sure she's still not having symptoms. It surprised me when they called, and they don't every time...
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Thanks, guys.

Boon, thanks for the heads up. That would freak me if I wasn't expecting it.
 

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Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
 
That is so scary...BTDT! Glad she's OK.
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
You're good for noticing .

When I was three or four, I once ate over half a bottle of Flintstones vitamins.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 


I'm sorry, mac.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
Yep, I've BTDT too.

My worst experience when Wes was gone was when Abigail was a baby, she was sitting in a little kid-sized chair eating an animal cracker, and she stood up in the chair - it tipped over of course, but because of bad positioning it tipped her over onto the brick fireplace hearth.

I ran to her and picked her up to find blood streaming from a cut on the forehead, but even worse, she wasn't breathing. She was choking on the animal cracker, and bleeding all over the place.

I slapped her back a couple times, up came the cracker, then I sat her down in the kitchen and began cleaning away blood. Wes walked in the door after I got a bandaid on her and was very confused when I handed her to him then collapsed on the floor sobbing in hysteria.

 

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Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
I was sitting on the lawn with my newborn daughter. She was on a blanket, all bundled up, I was lying peacefully next to her.

Suddenly, our dogs started barking as the hated(by them) neighbor's dog came into the yard.

I needed to save the baby!

I jumped up and promptly kicked her in her little forehead, leaving a sneaker burn. She rolled down a little incline in the lawn.

The dogs never came close to her. even if they had, they would never have stepped on her.

I just about died.
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
I can top that mack. When I was about 3 I devoured the entire contents of a mostly full bottle of baby aspirin. I knew that I wasn't supposed to eat the stuff, so I was very sneaky about it, and my parents didn't discover what I'd done for days. I was completely unharmed by it, which is kind of surprising, and makes me think that I may be misremembering how much was in the bottle.
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
Me too. But then I think, maybe that's what screwed me up. The VITAMINS!
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Let us know if she has minty-fresh poop.

It's very good that you knew just what to do and that your little princess will be OK.
 

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Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
 
I'm glad ketchup-princess is ok.

My brother and my cousin once ate all of my Mum's thyroid pills.

To get to them, they'd made a staircase out of a chair, books, a box and a drawer. Sneaky stuff.

There was a lot of vomiting in the garden that night.
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 

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There was a lot of vomiting in the garden that night.

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Sounds like something to start off a story.

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Eh, kids are tough. Toothpaste is hardly massively lethal.

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See, and I know this, but I still don't want my baby getting anything harmful. I keep all other poisonous substances locked up, but it's hard to do that with toothpaste without aggrivating my husband's back. I suppose I should install a drawer latch and stick it in the drawer, but it looks like we'll most likely be moving soon, so I'll deal for another month.

Even though I knew, rationally, that she was fine, and hadn't swallowed enough to hurt her, I still called for reassurance and to know what to watch for, because that's what moms do. And I was glad they told me to give her Tums, because I don't want my baby to have to throw up, either.
 

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Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
 
((ketchupqueen))
You are a great mother.

*more hugs*

When I was very young I aparently ate poison berries that grow on the bushes outside. Mom called poison contol and they gave me something that made me throw up pretty quickly.
 

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Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
 
Prolly Ipecac syrup.
 

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Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
 

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Originally posted by Noemon:

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Sounds like something to start off a story.

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You're right mack, that would be a brilliant first line.

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Anyone is welcome to use it if they so wish.

Hey maybe we should all try and compare. See where the stories all go from that first line.
 

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Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
 
When I was little I used to eat a little bit of toothpaste after every tooth brushing. Pretty much just the same about I'd put on the tooth brush, I'd stick on my finger and eat when I was done. It tasted good and never harmed me. My parents probablly woulda told me to stop had they found out, but they never did
 

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Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
 
My poor sister at age 2 ate a bottle of aspirin and had to have her stomach pumped. Its one of the worst experiences my mom ever had in her life. She felt like a terrible parent and also was pretty sure that my sister hadn't actually swallowed the aspirin because she came running out of my grandma's bathroom with her tongue hanging out, spitting out aspirin. Scary stuff.

I'm glad to hear your little one is safe. Give her a hug from us and take a bow for handling the situation so well!
 

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Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
 
Our best kid panic story:

We were sitting in the living room watching TV one night with some friends. My youngest, who was then about 3, kept climbing up to sit on my chest, and then on the back of the couch. He was between me and Teres, so we didn't think much of it. Without us really noticing -- inches away -- he creeped backwards until he was sitting on the window sill. Suddenly he leaned back, and without a sound flipped backwards out of the first floor window.

Teresa screamed. I was outside immediately, closely followed by my friend Dave. We searched the bushes under the window and didn't see him, getting more frantic by the minute because he hadn't had time to bounce, much less go anywhere. So where the heck was he? Teres had started to follow us but she looked back at the window and saw... knuckles.

She called to us, and we looked up. He had held on to the window sill when he flipped and was now hanging with his head and shoulder against the wall and his legs sticking straight out, about a foot over our heads. He seemed nonplussed. I scooped him off the window and brought him inside to Teresa, who refused to let go of him the rest of the night. We were relived and, frankly, pretty amused once the adrenaline wore off.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Alcon, it says on the package not to swallow "more than twice the amount used for brushing". So you were probably fine with little bits.

Chris, that's a great story.
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
When I was a camp counselor and in charge of twelve kids for two weeks straight (overnight camp) I realized something. This realization came just after a ten year old kid swimming in the boating around swam herself straight into a canoe (a canoe that was not moving at ALL, mind you) and gave herself a minor concussion.

Lemme repeat, the canoe wasn't moving at all. The kid was.

Then I realized: part of raising kids is keeping them from killing themselves before they reach adulthood. THAT is responsibility.

imogen:

quote:

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Anyone is welcome to use it if they so wish.

Hey maybe we should all try and compare. See where the stories all go from that first line.

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