Tag Archives: poison

What to Know about the Glow

Glow sticks are extremely popular this time of year.  You can find kids sporting them at summer fireworks shows, evening baseball games, backyard barbeques and during bike rides at dusk.  My 8-year-old loves to bend them into bracelets, necklaces and headbands and wear them while we stroll along the beach after sunset. While I’m game for the glow, other parents are not as thrilled to see their kids playing with the popular, yet potentially poisonous neon sticks.  Many moms and dads question the contents of glow sticks.  After all, if the liquid inside the sticks can make plastic light up like … Continue reading →

Rocker Bret Michaels in Critical Condition

If you have watched any of his reality shows (“Rock of Love” and “Celebrity Apprentice”), you are probably aware that rocker Bret Michaels is a Type 1 diabetic. Having had several friends that were Type 1 diabetics, I know that this disease can really do a lot of damage to your health. In one of the last episode of “Celebrity Apprentice,” Michaels was upset because the doctors feared his young daughter was a diabetic as well and he knew how tough it would be if she was. And while Michaels has appeared healthy on this season’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” his health … Continue reading →

Accidental Poisoning: Common Culprits

An accidental poisoning can be a life or death situation. Knowing the symptoms of poisoning can help you get treatment quickly… but knowing the most common household hazards can help you prevent the situation entirely. A poison is any substance that disrupts the normal function of the body. Poison can be eaten or drunk, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin. Keep your local poison control center phone number handy! Put a copy of that number (and other emergency numbers) in your first aid kit AND post an emergency phone list by your house phone. You don’t want to have … Continue reading →

Symptoms of Accidental Poisoning

An accidental poisoning can be a serious, life-threatening emergency. Knowing the signs of poisoning can help you take action quickly… and maybe safe a life. A poison can be ingested, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin. A person who has been poisoned may become suddenly ill, or unconscious. You may notice a person who has been poisoned acting strangely. Common symptoms of poisoning can include: vomiting, stomach pain, trouble breathing, headache, fever, chills, dizziness, drowsiness, pain and swelling in the throat. If you suspect an accidental poisoning, you may also notice other signs. There may be burns or stains … Continue reading →

Where did all the Recalls go?

Is it just me? After constant reports of recalls on everything from ground beef and toys to pet food, it suddenly seems rather quiet. There are still recalls and tainted or otherwise dangerous products, but it seems like there should be some follow up to the issues that created such a stir. Concerning the ground beef, at least one company went out of business. Still, there are many others out there that produce and sell this food, and the question is what has been done to prevent future problems? Is the lead paint scare over? What kind of dog food … Continue reading →

Pet First Aid: Warfarin Poisoning

Warfarin is one of several compounds that may be used in rodent poisoning. Many dogs and cats (especially farm pets) are poisoned by warfarin each year — either from eating the rodent bait or by eating a rodent that has eaten the bait. This is the most common cause of poisoning in pets. Warfarin causes internal bleeding because it blocks the body’s production of clotting agents — proteins that allow the blood to clot. The body has a supply of clotting proteins already, so it may take a day or two after the poison has been ingested for symptoms to … Continue reading →

Kids and Summer Health Dangers

I am choosing to ignore what the calendar says… Despite the fact that in bold, black, block letters the words, “FIRST DAY OF SUMMER” appear on June 21, we have been experiencing summer-like temperatures in the low 90s for the past 10 days. Amazingly, the blistering heat has not kept the bugs away. I think they are desperately trying to get in our home to escape the heat outside. Meanwhile, my daughter has been making a beeline for the front door—she wants out of the house and into the pool. Don’t get me wrong; I love the warmer summer months … Continue reading →

Menu Foods Pet Recall: New Clues, More Questions

Photo by hagit M. Are you as mystified as I am about the Menu Foods Pet Recall? Aminopterin On March 24th, Menu Foods issued a press release stating that researchers at the New York State Food Laboratory discovered Aminopterin in samples of the recalled pet food provided to them. In some countries, excluding the United States and Canada, Aminopterin is used as a rodenticide. That’s where all the talk about “rat poison” has come from in the news. However, in the week following this announcement, other scientists trying to also find the root of the problem haven’t been able to … Continue reading →

The Case of the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall

Photo by H. Berends We’ve seen this before. Last year Diamond Pet Food recalled dog and cat food when their products became contaminated with aflatoxin, a fungal toxin, and a lot of pets, mainly dogs, died of liver failure. The fungus was later identified to have come from contaminated corn crops used in manufacturing the pet food. Diamond was really good about it. They offered to cover vet bills for pets that were affected. What I found frustrating was that reports conflicted regarding the number of deaths: it ranged anywhere from two dozen to over 100, depending on who was … Continue reading →

Father Tries To Poison Kids

Here’s an example of one of those sad but true cases of parents gone mad. A 41-year-old Atlanta man has admitted that he poisoned soup and fed it to his two young kids in order to extort money from the Campbell Soup Company. He has plead guilty to communicating false claims. After placing “life-threatening foreign substances” in the soup and then forcing his kids to eat it, the man then called the company and claimed the soup was contaminated. The man’s children are 3-years-old and 18-months-old and unfortunately this is not an isolated case of his abuse. The kids were … Continue reading →