Twins eat poison

Romy and Romie, 13 month old twins were brought into clinic at the end of the day on Monday. They had eaten poison I was told-not understanding what it was at the time. I asked what we had to treat poison cases. Ipecac-no. Charcoal-no [we have cooking fire type charcoal but none in powder form for swallowing-we could crush up some in a emergency I guess] Generally they put down a tube and remove the stomach contents. OK.

The nurse had written down the chemical name of the substance and they showed me a small bag full of small black round pellets. So I hiked up to the house to check on the Internet and in my books. Success-Potassium Permanganate. Used as an antiseptic-said to be odorless and have a sweet taste. Mom said she had it in the house to use diluted in water for skin problems.

We knew they had taken some as the insides of their mouths and tongues were purple but didn't really see tissue damage. Well the book on poisons said that charcoal wouldn't help, not to make the person vomit, and there was no antidote. Just to make them drink plenty of liquids.

Physically they were OK-mad after having the tube put down but otherwise acting normal. The boy had eaten a number of the pellets-found in his stomach but the girl was clean. After a few hours of observation they were allowed to go home. I discussed with the parents to watch for trouble breathing or stomach problems as there are risks of problems developing at a later time.

So thankful for Internet-can search and get medical information in a few minutes! Occasionally I take pictures of patients with our digital camera and we are able to send those to the States for medical consultations to help with patient care.