At Indiana Poison Center our staff are called Specialists in Poison Information, conveniently abbreviated as SPIs. Sometimes I think our Registered Nurse jobs should actually be known as real Spies, since we spend so much time digging out hidden information ...
Indiana Poison Center, this is Gwenn RN, how may I help you?
“This is Kate, the school nurse from Happy Valley Elementary. Several of our parents have seen this e-mail that is circulating about alcohol based hand sanitizer and the dangers involved if children should lick the hand sanitizer off of their hands. The parents want us to switch to alcohol-free hand sanitizer. Can you tell me anything about this?”
Well, I can tell you that as long as your students weigh more than 30 pounds and are licking less than a teaspoon of hand sanitizer from their hands, they are going to be perfectly fine. Ethanol based hand sanitizers typically contain 62% ethanol, and ingestion of a teaspoon or less in a 2 year old, 30 pound child is not enough to be a problem. If you have kindergarten aged children and above, they should weigh more than 30 pounds, so they should be fine. I’d be glad to e-mail you our news release on hand sanitizer – you’re not the only school nurse being besieged by parents who have read this mis-information and are worried about it!
“Hi, this is Dr House from Memorial Community ER. I have a guy here who says he shot up heroin, but he sure doesn’t act like it. He’s agitated, tachycardic and hypertensive. I remember seeing something about heroin that was contaminated ... Can you fill me in on that?”
Sure, Epi-X had an alert out on heroin that is contaminated with clenbuterol. It resulted in symptoms like you describe – agitation, tremors, hypertension, tachycardia – plus hypokalemia and hyperglycemia. Treatment is basically symptomatic and supportive care – benzodiazepines and temperature control, plus correction of the electrolytes. Would you like me to fax you the alert?”
A weeping mom: “I just gave my baby some Motrin and some cold medicine - Then my sister-in-law told me that ibuprofen and cold meds could kill him! She saw it on the internet! Should I take him to the Emergency Room?”
No, ma’am, you don’t need to take him to the hospital, he’s going to be perfectly fine. I’ve seen that internet entry too and it’s not true at all. It’s what we call an urban legend, or what they used to call an old wives’ tale. Ibuprofen, which is what’s in Motrin, and Dextromethorphan, which is the cough ingredient they’re concerned about, are not toxic together. Both are safe when used as directed, together or separately. I’ve checked several drug interaction sites and they have no drug interactions, and I’ve also checked some reputable web-sites that investigate web rumors like this and they say there’s no support for this one.
Gwenn
To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit Nursing Jobs Indianapolis.
Indiana Poison Center, this is Gwenn RN, how may I help you?
“This is Kate, the school nurse from Happy Valley Elementary. Several of our parents have seen this e-mail that is circulating about alcohol based hand sanitizer and the dangers involved if children should lick the hand sanitizer off of their hands. The parents want us to switch to alcohol-free hand sanitizer. Can you tell me anything about this?”
Well, I can tell you that as long as your students weigh more than 30 pounds and are licking less than a teaspoon of hand sanitizer from their hands, they are going to be perfectly fine. Ethanol based hand sanitizers typically contain 62% ethanol, and ingestion of a teaspoon or less in a 2 year old, 30 pound child is not enough to be a problem. If you have kindergarten aged children and above, they should weigh more than 30 pounds, so they should be fine. I’d be glad to e-mail you our news release on hand sanitizer – you’re not the only school nurse being besieged by parents who have read this mis-information and are worried about it!
“Hi, this is Dr House from Memorial Community ER. I have a guy here who says he shot up heroin, but he sure doesn’t act like it. He’s agitated, tachycardic and hypertensive. I remember seeing something about heroin that was contaminated ... Can you fill me in on that?”
Sure, Epi-X had an alert out on heroin that is contaminated with clenbuterol. It resulted in symptoms like you describe – agitation, tremors, hypertension, tachycardia – plus hypokalemia and hyperglycemia. Treatment is basically symptomatic and supportive care – benzodiazepines and temperature control, plus correction of the electrolytes. Would you like me to fax you the alert?”
A weeping mom: “I just gave my baby some Motrin and some cold medicine - Then my sister-in-law told me that ibuprofen and cold meds could kill him! She saw it on the internet! Should I take him to the Emergency Room?”
No, ma’am, you don’t need to take him to the hospital, he’s going to be perfectly fine. I’ve seen that internet entry too and it’s not true at all. It’s what we call an urban legend, or what they used to call an old wives’ tale. Ibuprofen, which is what’s in Motrin, and Dextromethorphan, which is the cough ingredient they’re concerned about, are not toxic together. Both are safe when used as directed, together or separately. I’ve checked several drug interaction sites and they have no drug interactions, and I’ve also checked some reputable web-sites that investigate web rumors like this and they say there’s no support for this one.
Gwenn
To be a registered nurse at Clarian, visit Nursing Jobs Indianapolis.
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