Child swallows rat poison

A girl aged three from the municipality of Chisinau was rushed to the Mother and Child Institute in a serious state after she swallowed rat poison. She found the granules in her grandparents’ house and ingested an unknown quantity of these out of curiosity, while being unsupervised, IPN reports.



The head of the Intensive Care Section Ana Oglinda said the girl underwent gastric lavage and was administered antidotes. She will be under doctors’ supervision for a period. The rat poison is very dangerous as it contains anticoagulants that can cause hemorrhage or even death, if the dose is high.



Another three-year-old child from the municipality was admitted to the Intensive Care Section in a serious condition after drinking formic acid. The girl’s mother related that she was in the house when the incident happened. The girl went to the uncle’s room, where she found the bottle and drank from it. It’s not yet known how much, but the substance caused mucous membrane burns and the child will be unable to eat for a period.



The adults are urged not to leave the children unsupervised, be vigilant and explain to them what is good and what is bad. The toxic substances must be kept closed or as high as possible, at least 1.5 meters from the floor. In serious cases of poisoning, a doctor should be consulted until the ambulance arrives. The parents can preliminarily consult the specialist of the TOXAPEL service on 022.555.220. This service provides telephonic assistance to parents and medical personnel, teaching them how to give first aid in case of child poisoning.



Information about how to protect the child in different situations can be found at www.parinti.md and following the awareness-raising campaigns, aimed at preventing home accident involving children, carried out by the Regionalization of the Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services (REPEMOL) Project. The project is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and is implemented by the Center for Health Policies and Services.