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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
An ounce of prevention better than ounce of ipecac
This past weekend, I did
some fill-in work for a phar
macist friend at the retail
pharmacy in which I used to
work. While retrieving an
item from the stock, I
noticed a few bottles of
ipecac on the shelves.
This brought to mind a
column I wrote in January
of last year about how ipecac
was no longer being recom
mended for household use in
cases of accidental poison
ings. Since ipecac is still
sold, I thought it would be
good to re-run that column
for those who missed it, so
here it is.
When I was in pharmacy
school, we were taught that
it was a good idea for house
holds with small children to
keep a bottle of ipecac syrup
on hand to be used in case of
accidental poisonings.
Ipecac is a liquid medication
that induces vomiting when
ingested.
It was thought that using
ipecac syrup to attempt to
11*31110 shift planned
on Corder Road
From staff reports
WARNER ROBINS - The
intersection of Corder Road
and Russell Parkway is mov
ing.
The existing intersection
of Corder Road and Russell
Parkway will be closed, and
as of Thursday, there will be
a traffic shift, according to
the Georgia Department of
Transportation, which is
handling the Russell
Parkway reconstruction.
According to GDOT, traf
fic will be relocated to the
two lanes on the western
section of the newly con
structed portion of Corder
Road, which creates a new
Mistaken identity lands man in jail for open container
ByRAYUGHTNER
HHJ staff Writer
Eleaser Rodriquez, 43,
414 Jackie Blvd., Warner
Robins, was arrested for
driving while unlicensed,
improper right turn and
open container violation
after following another car
into the Flash Foods parking
lot, getting out and yelling
at the driver just after mid
night on Saturday. The
deputy discovered
Rodriquez mistook the driv
er of the other car as some
one he had been in a past
altercation with. He was
then arrested for the viola
tions, taken to jail and his
car was towed.
TMI
Colt Eugene Rogers, 18,
313 Red Fox Run, Warner
Robins, tried to explain the
situation to the deputy and
was later advised of his right
to remain silent.
Rogers was pulled over on
Elaine Drive Saturday night
and the deputy asked for his
license and proof of insur
ance. Rogers reportedly gave
police a ticket from Warner
Robins Police for no insur
ance and said his mother
had canceled the insurance
the same day she purchased
it.
He reportedly said he
knew the van he was driving
was uninsured and the tag
was expired. He was just
trying to get it home from
Skyway Drive. He also
reportedly told the deputy
the city had his license and
he had missed his original
court date for no insurance
and speeding, but the judge
- whom he could not name -
was working with him.
The deputy explained the
reason for the stop. Rogers
was allegedly speeding, the
van did not have properly
working brake lights, the
windshield was shattered
and the tag was expired
When Rogers asked why
he was being arrested, the
deputy reportedly told him
that he failed to show up for
court, the state had sus
pended his licepse and the
vehicle was uninsured. The
driver reportedly said he
David Voltz
Pharmacy Q&A
voltzrph@hotmail.com
remove the ingested poison
may help improve the sur
vival rate in these cases. The
American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) approved
of this recommendation and
encouraged parents to keep
a one ounce bottle on hand
to be used to induce vomit
ing on the advice of their
physician, emergency room,
or poison control center.
The product was recom-
intersection with Russell
Parkway just west of there.
There will be a new signal
in operation at the new
intersection, and the traffic
will be one lane north and
one lane south on the west
side of new Corder Road.
“This shift being put in so
the north end can be proper
ly aligned to the existing
Corder Road,” explained
Dorothy Daniel, DOT com
munications officer.
“Motorists are urged to be
on the alert for the traffic
shift and to drive safely
when traveling through any
construction work zone,”
Daniel said.
POLICE
BUT
had explained about that
and asked the deputy to fol
low him home as police had
done on two other occasions.
The deputy declined, say
ing “we do not help violate
laws” and called for the tow
truck.
The driver asked the
radar unit be checked for
accuracy, saying his
speedometer had shown 25
mph. The driver was
reminded that there was no
speedometer in the vehicle
(as the deputy had
observed), and that he had
the right to remain silent.
The driver was charged
with no insurance, expired
tag, speeding 42 mph in 25-
mph zone, defective equip
ment and driving without
BBlg*
WHst.
mended to be used only on
the advice of a physician due
to it only being beneficial for
certain types of poisonings.
Using ipecac for some kinds
of poisonings (strychnine,
lye, acids, petroleum prod
ucts or cleaning fluids, for
example) could be even
more detrimental to the
patient, causing damage to
the esophagus, throat and
lungs.
So for many years phar
macists and physicians have
encouraged parents to keep
ipecac syrup on hand and to
know how to use it if so
instructed. However, this
recommendation has recent
ly changed and parents are
now encouraged to discard
any ipecac syrup that they
have on hand.
The most recent position
statement from the AAP
states that “ipecac syrup
should no longer be routine
ly used as a poison treat
ment intervention in the
home.” The reason for this
I ‘jri
license on person.
Wo speak English'
Abiniel Bartolon, 25,
Oglethorpe, reportedly told
the deputy “no speak
English” each time he was
asked about his drinking or
implied consent to a breath
test. According to an inci
dent report, he able to
say he did not have a dri
ver’s license when asked,
and at the jail said “I need to
use the phone to call my sis
ter.”
The deputy pulled him
over on Ga. 26 at 3:11 a.m.
Saturday, after Bartolon
reportedly ran off the road,
into the ditch, then back
across the centerline travel
ing in the opposite lane. The
deputy reportedly observed
several empty beverage con
tainers on the driver’s side
floor and the driver was
LOCAL
change in thought is that
while ipecac may be a safe
emetic when used appropri
ately, its effectiveness in pre
venting deaths from poison
ings has never been proven.
Twenty years ago, ipecac
syrup was used in up to 15
percent of the cases of pedi
atric poisonings. It is now
used in less than 1 percent
of these cases. The reason
for this decrease in usage is
that ipecac is not very reli
able at removing poisons
(removing only about 30
percent of the poison, even
when used within 30 min
utes of ingestion, according
to some sources) and, as
stated earlier, it was only to
be used for certain types of
poisons.
Another problem with
ipecac is its potential for
abuse by persons with eat
ing disorders. In the mid
1980s ipecac syrup had to be
moved behind the pharmacy
counter for this very reason.
Chronic misuse of ipecac can
allegedly unstable while
standing outside the car.
None of the other people in
the car could speak English
either, and reportedly none
of the other three men and
one woman - nor the infant
- was wearing a seat belt.
According to the report, the
infant was lying across the
back seat of the vehicle. A
search of the car found one
open Budweiser and seven
empties. The driver was
charged with DUI-refusal,
open container, seat belt vio
lation, endangering a child
under 14 by DUI, child
restraint under age 5, fail
ure to maintain lane and
driving while unlicensed.
Stay away from
Nigerian e-mail
A Bonaire woman told
deputies on May 7, she had
been communicating over
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“The Medical Center
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James Cunningham, MD
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Over 20 years experience
cause seizures and cardiac
toxicity and was thought to
be a contributing factor in
the deaths of some people.
So what should a parent
do (after child-proofing your
cabinets and securing med
ications out of children’s
reach)? First, ask your pedi
atrician what their recom
mendation would be in case
this should happen. Second,
keep your pediatrician’s
phone number as well as the
phone number to the poison
control center (800-222-
1222) posted by all your
phones. You may want to
program these numbers in
to all your phones, including
your cell phones.
Third, make sure your
daycare and/or your child
care provider as well as your
family members and your
child’s siblings know these
numbers. Make sure these
people also know which
pharmacy you use and the
pharmacy’s phone number
the Internet with people
from Nigeria. They had
asked her about purchasing
some computers. She told
them she did not have any
money for computers and
they told her she didn’t need
any, they would get the mer
chandise and send her the
money. She told deputies she
supplied them with name
address and phone number,
and about two weeks ago
she received four air condi
tioners at $149.88 each from
Sears. Three days ago, she
said she received four shirts
at $16.50 each from Old
Navy and five pairs of shoes
at $34 each from Newport
News. Each item was sent
with invoices in her name
and which was spelled
wrong. She contacted the
stores which reportedly said
they’d come pick up the
items. The woman provided
deputies with e-mail
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the only nationally recognized heart and vascular program for Central
Georgia and continues to lead the way with:
• A dedicated, full time CV Surgeon/lntensivist in the Cardiovascular
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• Over 1,000 Open Heart Surgeries performed yearly
• The first Cardiac Intensive Care Unit in Central Georgia
• Over 30 full time physicians and surgeons specializing in heart care
• The region's only complete heart rehab program - Heartworks
World Class Care... right where you need it.
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\J HEART CENTER
/* k Center if Excellence in Cardiac b Vascular Care
The Medical Center
of Central Georgia
mccg.org
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005
in case poison control or
your physician needs to con
tact your pharmacist for any
reason.
Again, keep the poison
control phone number
handy. Call them immedi
ately and follow their
instructions. And go ahead
and get rid of your ipecac
syrup, if you have any on
hand and to paraphrase an
old saying, “An ounce of pre
vention is better than an
ounce of ipecac.”
If you have any questions
regarding medications or
pharmacy practice in gener
al, or comments, or sugges
tions for topics you’d like to
read about in this column,
just write to me. I can receive
email via voltzrph@hot
mail.com or postal mail at
Pharmacy Q&A, c/o The
Houston Home Journal, P.O.
Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069.
All questions are confiden
tial, so you don’t have to give
your name.
Perry swears
in new officer
«
Probate Court Judge Janice
Spires swears in Perry Police
Officer Andrew Borders on
Monday. Borders, is a native of
Waycross and lives in Jones
County, where he is engaged
to Jennie Ash and is a member
of First Baptist Church of Gray.
He has an associate’s degree
in criminal justice from
Georgia Military College and
completed the police academy
in Macon on Friday. Borders
worked for six months with the
city Animal Control
Department, Chief George
Potter said. “He knows Perry
and knows the people," the
chief said.
HHJ/Ray Lightner
•n 'Ttfif* 'TfQrtl q.P>9J
addresses for the Nigerians
whose name she believes
were Mark and James.
On-call trumps
private wrecker
On Sunday evening, a
deputy was asked by a
church member to have a
vehicle towed from the lot
that had been there for a
week. The vehicle was not
reported stolen but had an
illegal drive-out tag. The tag
was from D&D Brittco,
which closed about two
years ago. While waiting for
an on-call wrecker, another
tow truck showed up, claim
ing to be from the owner,
whom the wrecker driver
could not identify. The
deputy waited for the on-call
wreck to arrive and released
the vehicle to them with a
hold placed on the vehicle.
5A