Important things to know…
1> The national number for Poison Control is 800.222.1222 then press 1 for a potential poisoning. This number will transfer you to the closest poison control center in your area.
2> Children are like super heros - they move faster than the speed of light.
3> Menthol chest rub *may* cause seizures if too much is absorbed into the skin, but this generally happens only after vomiting, and all symptoms generally appear within 30 minutes.
4> Poison control doesn’t judge you for being a freaked out parent - you can call them about anything and they will calmly talk you down.
5> It’s better just to call poison control rather than wasting time surfing the Internet for the answer to your question. See point 4.
And how do I know this? Because in about 90 seconds today, the children got out of the bathtub, found the chest rub (they have colds, so I was planning on rubbing down their feet before bed) and rubbed themselves down - face, hands, tummy, EYES! Screaming ensued. Thank GOODNESS we had some Dawn dish soap left over from Delaney’s expedition with Vaseline (see below), which cut the petroleum jelly and helped us clean them off quickly!
After googling “chest rub” and seeing “seizure,” I called poison control. Chris thought I was overreacting a bit, but I didn’t care! And then I came to find out that this could be serious! The potential amount of chest rub that they rubbed on their body could have been dangerous - luckily we washed them quickly and well! Poor Delaney did have to suffer through substantial eye irrigation, but she was fine.
So now they are sleeping, without stuffy noses. And we have a bathtub that seriously needs a bath.
All this excitement had us reminicing of the time that Delaney smeared an entire vat of Vaseline on her clothes, body, bed, sheets, pillow, walls, HAIR, face…everywhere. It was March 27, 2007 and she was just under two and a half. She was “napping” (ahem…resting…sort of…). It was a DISASTER! It took us ages to get it out of her hair. We washed and washed and washed with every imaginable soap/clenser that was available and would not like harm her permenantly if it touched her skin. We corn starched the heck out of her hair - here are some pics.
After combing. All those tiny white dots in her hair are absorbed vaseline. Unfortunately it didn’t comb out as well as I though it would.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
See? This is why we have blogs, so we can share our OMG stories.
Remind me to keep (extra) cornflour on hand and to not leave the vaseline/chestrub down lower than my head.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Oh my!!!! So glad they’re okay! Kids are so very fast!
September 8th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Oh Tara!! How frightening… and a big mess too (extra fun). Will you ever have petroleum based products in your house after this, lol??
September 9th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Glad that they’re all well. That would freak me out, too, and Poison Control would be my first call.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:24 am
W-O-W!
I don’t blame you for freaking out. At least I now know the dangers of the rub. thanks for that tidbit.
Oh, and PLEASE pull out those pics of Delaney when her first date is sitting in the living room.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I’ve called them a couple of times (once when DH & I both gave one of the kids their morning dose of allergy medicine and once when I think one of us gave one of the kids four or six times the amount of some medication). They were very nice and reassuring that, no, we had not poisoned our child and, in fact, we could give them way more and not see a reaction (but we didn’t try that, thanks!) However, I was nervous when they asked if they could have my name & number so they could call me back and I was like, um, yeah, I don’t want to get on a frequent caller’s list titled “Family Which Frequently ODs Their Kids And Then Calls Us” and end up on the CPS watch list. So I’m embarrassed to admit that I usually hang up on them. I’m a horrible person!
Glad Laney & Colin are fine and definitely not congested anymore (and maybe never will be again!)
September 10th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I have called PC more times than I can count. Oh I would have been beyond freaking. Seizures upset me.
Here if you need me!
Jo
September 12th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Mine are 1… and we already know poison control. Z opened a childproof advil bottle… then they shared them. Luckily, I got most out of their mouth! There was a little spitting up… but they were OK. Thank Goodness for Poison Control!!!!
Hey, did you know you can get Mr. Yuck Stickers for free? I’m going to get some to put on my phones, on the diaperbag, on my mil’s phone, maybe one on each child… better to be prepared.
September 18th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.