Mom and I are sitting here having a discussion about the 50 Best Parenting Tips, and one of them is to keep ipecac in your glove box, in case you have a poisoning situation on the road. I read that and said, "Uh oh, I'm going to have to write a letter. They don't want people to use ipecac anymore." Mom was horrified* (see also: car seats, driving into the river, etc.) and said, "But what are you supposed to do if they eat a bottle of Tylenol? That will kill you!" I looked up the current guidelines for use (VERY useful website there, folks, and not just for ipecac!) and as I thought, they only seem to want you to use it if you're more than 60 minutes away from an emergency room. Mom says that you'd have to wait at least that long in any ER, so you should give them ipecac even if the hospital is just across town, like it is here. I say that if I walk in with a kid and say, "This child ate a bottle of Tylenol 10 minutes ago!" they're going to hop to and skip all the time-wasting preliminary stuff.What say you, internets? Ipecac - yay or nay? And be sure to list your age (or, at least, your generation) with your answer, because I have a feeling that makes a difference.
* Edited to add: Mom insists that she was not "horrified." She was calmly and moderately concerned. Duly noted.
1 comment:
I am OLD in body...young in spirit. I didn't know they still made Ipecac. Years ago, parents were told to keep ipecac on hand for emergencies. That's probably not a bad idea. I guess I wouldn't use anything like that without calling the doctor, 911 or the poison control center. However, if it's needed you have it.
love,
Susan
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