Patients Who are Poisoned

Patients Who are Poisoned Most people would be surprised at the number of poisonings that come through a hospital each year. Some are intentional harm one person does to another, some are accidental, and some are attempts at taking one's own life. The forms of poison range drastically, and can also vary from mild to severe, and can even cause death. Sample Poison Scenarios A man was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of severe flu. He was 52 years of age, so not yet into the senior category, and would normally not be considered high risk. However in this case, the man was quite ill, and his symptoms could not be controlled. For days he experienced severe vomiting and lethargy, with it getting slightly worse each day. His wife did say that she had been sick, with the same symptoms but had improved over the last several days. Multiple tests, and exams later proved the man had ingested antifreeze. For obvious reasons, the police were informed, and his wife was questioned extensively. As investigators were at the man's home making a routine check, one officer over-hear the 3 year old grandson say he was going to make his grandma some of his special drink. Upon a closer look at this special drink, it was found to be a mixture of sprite and antifreeze. The 3 year old informed officers he did not drink any, as he could read the adults only on the label, and he did not want to do anything wrong. The family was obviously warned about the dangers of not properly storing products in the presence of children. The good news was, this was truly accidental, no harm was intended, and the man was fine after several days. Related: Working with Patients When Embarrassment is an Issue You may have heard of salt poisoning via the news media. There have been several cases involving children, that salt poisoning was behind their death. While in most of these cases, the attending adult was found guilty, no one actually knows if that was the case. Some children that have mineral deficiencies may crave substances such as salts, and it may be difficult to restrict them from all salts. A child suspected of having salt/sodium cravings should be evaluated by a physician, and appropriate labs checked to determine a possible cause. Parents of children that are at risk of salt poisoning should keep all products with high sodium content locked up securely. Products that contain high amounts of sodium can be prepackaged meats, including lunch meats. Flavored rice or boxed potatoes, and soups

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