Danger! Lethal Household Agents!
SHE was just eleven years old and her older brother told her how she could take a ‘psychedelic journey into unreality.’ So, taking the balloon that he gave her, she filled it with the substance from an aerosol spray can. Then she began to inhale the intoxicating vapors that the balloon forcibly exuded as it deflated. In a few moments the little girl began to gasp for air and soon she suffocated and died.
About ten days later a college boy tried getting “high” by inhaling the spray directly from the same type of aerosol can, and he, too, died as a result. Other children have even sprayed this substance directly into their throats in an attempt to experience the strange effects it has upon the senses. Their lives ended most painfully when it froze their larynges.
What is this death-dealing substance? It is called fluorocarbon-12 and it is used as a propellant for aerosol sprays, as a chilling agent for cocktail glasses and as a refrigerant. Not only this substance but many other chemicals pose serious dangers to persons who might misuse the products containing them. For example, there is a chemical in powder form that is useful in relieving asthma victims of their discomforts. If this powder is not used in the manner prescribed, it can be extremely hazardous. This is shown by what happened to a teen-ager when he swallowed two teaspoonfuls of it in an attempt to take a ‘psychedelic trip.’ The result? He was severely poisoned.
In view of such tragic incidents, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned doctors “that this and similar substances may be used in psychedelic experiments.” Not only doctors but parents should be aware of this warning. They need to protect their children from these deadly substances. This means not just warning them, but also taking a few moments every now and then to look in on what they are doing.
Adults should carefully read the labels of the products they may buy, noting especially the warnings listed thereon. Failure to do so can lead to a tragedy similar to what happened in a small hospital’s nursery. Suddenly, nine infants there became seriously ill and developed enlarged livers. Two of them died. Investigation traced the cause of death to the hospital’s laundry, where a mildew-preventing chemical was being added to the wash water. This toxic agent was absorbed into the babies’ skin from the diapers and bed clothing washed in this water. No one had paid any attention to the label on this product, which warned against using this solution in laundering diapers and bed linen. Carelessness in this simple matter exacted a very high price.
Another potentially lethal substance is aspirin. Each year more than 25 percent of the accidental poisonings among children involve this chemical. No wonder the pediatrics academy is expressing concern over the reports that soon a double-strength ten-grain aspirin may be on the market. According to the academy, this “represents twice the poisoning hazard of the familiar 300-mg tablet.” Truly, great caution is needed.
At present, much interest is being shown in the development of hard-to-open safety packages for potentially lethal substances. Preliminary tests with a container that requires twelve pounds of pressure and a twisting motion to open it reduced the incidence of accidental poisoning. A University of Utah associate professor of pediatrics found that strip packs for tablets make it more difficult and time-consuming for children to open and get at the dangerous contents. This gives parents a greater chance to discover what their children are up to before they can eat a toxic dose.
However, up to the present time, no completely satisfactory device is available for capsules and tablets. As for potentially dangerous liquids, there is an even greater need for safe containers. In view of all this, parents must be ever alert to their children’s whereabouts in the home and what they may be playing with. They should also see to it that potentially hazardous substances, drugs and household agents, are kept well out of the reach of little fingers and hands that are so eager to explore and taste.