What a Pill

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall
-"White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane

In contrast to the lyrics above, the pills that mother takes can be quite dangerous when eaten by a small child. A study in the Journal of Pediatrics looked at data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and found that child poisoning from prescription drugs was up 30% between 2001 and 2008. The likely source of the problem is that “there are more medications in households with small children”. Doctors are prescribing pills to everyone for everything and at increasing younger ages. Young parents are now taking opioid painkillers, sedative-hypnotics like muscle relaxants and sleep aids, and cardiovascular medicines. And while one, large pill a day is great for the adult, that large pill means a massive overdose when swallowed by a toddler.

Keep drugs out of reach. Preferable behind a locked cabinet.

Bottom Line

Many years ago as a teen-aged babysitter I was reading a book while the toddler slept (or so I thought). When the parents came home and checked the child, they found his mouth covered in white. It seems he had left his crib, found some aspirin, and decided to eat them. I had no clue this was happening. (I was not hired by that family again.)

Snake Antivenom Shortage

Genesis 14 God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel."
- World English Bible

On October 31st of this year, the US was scheduled to run out of antivenom for coral snake bites. The sole US manufacturer of the antivenom, Wyeth (now owned by Pfizer), stopped making the drug back in 2003 since, with fewer than 100 coral bites per year, there was no money to be made with this product. Before they shut down the factory, Wyeth made a five year supply to last through 2008. When no new supplier entered the US market, the FDA tested the drug and extended the expiration date to 2009 and then again extended to Oct 31, 2010.

Now the FDA has authorized a third extension for 2011. BUT there may not be 100 does left to last the next year. Hospitals are keeping mum on how much they have left out of fear that their last few doses will be transferred elsewhere.

Corals are the deadliest snakes native to the U.S. They inject a potent neurotoxin by grabbing hold of their prey and gnawing for 20 to 30 seconds with their little teeth. The bite and the poison cause little pain initially, but within hours victims experience slurred speech, droopy eyelids, and eventually the lungs shutdown. Without antivenom victims usually need to be placed on a ventilator or they die.
Corals can be found across the entire southern US from Kentucky, through the Carolinas, Georgia, Louisiana, all of Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The US varieties are most notable for their red, yellow/white, and black colored banding. There some non-poisonous mimic snakes that look like corals but have a different banding pattern:

If red touches yellow - it kills a fellow 
If red touches black, it is a friend of Jack (or it poison lacks)

Bottom Line

The VIPER institute at the University of Arizona is working with the FDA for approval of an antivenom from a Mexican manufacturer. However this won't be easy and will take time. In the meantime - avoid colorful snakes! 

Please don't eat the polar bear

"Millions of Americans take vitamins safely every day, including me. Vitamins and mineral supplements taken in recommended doses are safe. It's the designer supplements that are worrisome."
- Dick Durbin, US Senator.  

Today I learned an odd bit of trivia - twice - from two different sources. The first source is the Teaching Company lecture series, Nutrition Made Clear. The other source is http://www.survivalblog.com/, Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet. Apparently Polar Bear liver is dangerous. "A quarter-pound of polar bear liver contains about 2,250,000 units of vitamin A. That is roughly 450 times the recommended daily dose for an adult weighing 175 pounds.)" - survialblog.com. Eating more than a quarter ounce of polar bear liver per month can cause vitamin A poisoning.

Vitamin A, along with D, E and K, are fat soluble meaning they are absorbed into the body's fat and stay there until the body needs them. A massive overdose of these vitamins can be fatal. It's also dangerous to greatly exceed the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) every day (without a Dr's OK). The excess is stored in the body and may reach toxic levels over time.

So how about the water soluble vitamins like the B's and C? Everyone knows these are safe in large doses. Wrong. The lecture series Nutrition Made Clear tells the story of a gymnast who was given a massive dose of B6 for an energy boost. Unknown to the coach, a B6 overdose causes numbness in hands and/or feet (and can be fatal). The gymnast fell from the parallel bars and suffered a spinal injury that ended her career.

Vitamin C is popular in mega-doses to fight colds but there is little medical evidence that this is effective. At best C will end a cold sooner but not prevent it. Too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea, kidney stones, hot flashes, headache, insomnia and tiredness.

Bottom Line

I often hear people say, it's natural so it must be healthy. They forget belladonna is 100% natural but very deadly. So are some wild mushrooms and puffer fish. I would not want to eat Poison Ivy or inhale it.

Also you'll hear, "if a little is good, more is better" when it comes to minerals and vitamins. Here's a short list of vitamin overdose symptoms.

Vitamin A overdose:
Blurred vision, dizziness, ringing in the ears, headache, insomnia, irritability, apathy, stupor, skin rash, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, joint pain, menstrual irregularities, fatigue, liver damage, abnormal bone growth, damage to the nervous system.

D vitamin overdose:
Calcium deposits, deafness, nausea, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, kidney stones, weak bones, hypertension, high cholesterol

E vitamin overdose:
Pulmonary embolism, hypertension, muscular weakness, severe fatigue, breast tenderness, slow wound healing

Niacin vitamin overdose:
Acute flushing, peptic ulcers, liver dysfunction, gout, faintness, dizziness, tingling of fingertips, arrhythmia's, hyperglycemia

B6 vitamin overdose:
Problems with sense of position and vibration, reduced tendon reflexes, numbness in hands and feet, problems walking, problems with memory, depression, headache and tiredness

C vitamin overdose:
Taking mega doses for too long may lead to scurvy when mega doses are discontinued, kidney stones, hot flashes, headache, insomnia and tiredness.

Calcium overdose:
Depresses nerve function, can cause drowsiness, calcium deposits, and kidney stones

Iron overdose:
Damages liver, heart, and pancreas

Zinc overdose:
Fixed facial expression, difficulty walking, slurred speech, hand tremor, involuntary laughter

Cobalt overdose:
Goiter, heart damage

Selenium overdose:
Nausea, vomiting, fatigue, irritability, loss of fingernails and toenail.

Mercury

"No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow."-Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland (1951)

The word “Mercury” can mean many things. It’s an unusual metal that is liquid at room temperature, hence the name “quicksilver” or hydrargyrum (“watery silver” in Latinized Greek) from which we get the chemical symbol Hg for mercury. Alchemists thought mercury was the First Matter from which all metals are formed. The element was named after the Roman god Mercury, known for his speed and mobility. It is associated with the planet Mercury, the fastest moving planet about the sun.

Ancient Chinese emperors thought that mercury was good for health and it was used in dentistry and medicine into the late 20th century, but now we know it is an extremely toxic heavy metal with an impressive list of side effects causing psychological, neurological, digestive tract, cardiovascular, and respiratory damage. The psychological symptoms associated with mercury poisoning are said by some to have inspired the phrase "mad as a hatter". Hat makers were repeatedly exposed to mercury while processing the felt used in hats.

One thermometer with just one gram of mercury can contaminate all the fish in a 20-acre lake (fish and shellfish have a natural tendency to concentrate mercury in their bodies). Over the last decade in the United States and Europe, the mercury thermometer has gone the way of the rotary dial phone and analog television: virtually phased out. Sales of mercury thermometers are banned in many states and the World Health Organization (WHO) is working to eliminate the mercury thermometer globally.

If you’ve converted to using digital thermometers at home, congratulations. But you still might not be mercury free. Many fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury, as do some home thermostats. If you break a mercury thermometer, thermostat, or fluorescent light bulb be VERY careful with the cleanup.

What Not to Do After a Mercury Spill

•Don't vacuum up the spill or breakage. This will release mercury into the air and greatly increase the level of contamination.

•Don't sweep up the mercury or broken glass with a broom. This breaks up the mercury into smaller drops, increasing its surface area so that more mercury gets into the air and spreads around.

•Don't pour mercury down the drain. It can clog your plumbing and seriously pollute your septic system or the sewer system.

•Don't wash mercury-contaminated clothing. This contaminates your washing machine, all of the other clothes in the load, and the water that is washed down the drain. If you use a clothes dryer afterwards you're releasing mercury into the air and essentially poisoning yourself.

•Don't track it around on your shoes.

•Don't re-use any cloth or sponge that came in contact with the mercury, ever.

What can you do?

1. Clear the room of people, especially children, and pets. Do not allow children to help you clean up a mercury spill.

2. Shut off the heater or air conditioner. Open a window and allow the room to air out at least 15 minutes. If you have a face mask filter, wear it.

3. Use a sheet of paper or cardboard to scoop up glass and metal pieces. Deposit the breakage into a glass jar with a lid or a sealable plastic bag.

4. Use sticky tape to pick up the smaller pieces of debris. Drop the used tape into the jar or bag. Seal the jar.

5. If the break occurred over clothing or bedding, the material should be wrapped up and “thrown away” as per local law.

6. Clearly label your storage container as "Mercury - DO NOT OPEN."

7. Waste disposal regulations vary by State; some have stringent requirements for mercury disposal.

Bottom Line

Don't do anything that would spread a mercury spill or cause it to become airborne. Don’t breathe it.

Resources

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mercury-poisoning-symptoms.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm

Dangerous Medication

Lady Nancy Astor:
“Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea.”
Winston Churchill:
“Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.”

Remember Mr. Yuk and the danger of toddlers drinking the chemicals stored under your sink? New reports indicate that parents have forgotten that prescription medicines left at bedsides and in unlocked medicine cabinets can be just as deadly. When we visited my sister in July, one of my nieces (age 7) asked me to reach the Flintstone vitamin pills from a high kitchen shelf. I said, “No way”. I was not about to administer any medicine without approval of her mother. The niece thought it perfectly safe and saw nothing wrong with helping herself to vitamins.

According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control, “poisoning” has overtaken firearms as the second leading cause of death from injuries, and it’s not far behind the number one killer- motor vehicle accidents. From 1979 to 2006 the rate for poisoning more than doubled whereas firearm and car accidents have declined.

The CDC defines a poison as "any substance that is harmful to your body when ingested (eaten), inhaled (breathed), injected, or absorbed through the skin. Most deaths from “poison” are unintentional and caused by overdosing on medications or adverse interactions between medications.

A second CDC report revealed that prescription and over-the-counter medications account for almost 7 out of 10 emergency room visits for childhood poisonings. Each year more than 71,000 children ages 18 and younger visit hospital emergency rooms for unintentional medication overdoses. Most of the ingestions are among toddlers. Over 80 percent of the medicine over-ingestions were unsupervised (i.e. not administered by an adult).

The medications children most often over-consumed included acetaminophen (such as Tylenol), aspirin, ibuprofen, opioids (such as Percodan), benzodiazepines (such as Valium and Xanax), cough & cold medicines, and antidepressants.

Bottom Line

Put your medications in a locked medicine cabinet or box and be sure to always replace child-resistant caps. When parents of small children visit other people's homes, they should make sure the homeowner's medications are also out of reach.

When I was age 13, I babysat for a neighbor and thought all was well. When the parents came home they found a white substance around the mouth of their sleeping toddler. Somehow he had found an asprin bottle and eaten the contents. To this day I have no clue how he did that.