Potassium Ingestion (ER)

“It was very good that
you could get him in [the ER] so quickly. It’s so rapidly
absorbed, that sometimes it’s hard to get children to the
hospital in time to get it out,” Dr. Kathleen Nelson says
to Audrea Trawick. She had been busy in the kitchen, too busy to
notice that her son Skyler was missing. She found him in a closet
and scattered on the bathroom floor-potassium pills.

“You picked them all up that were on the floor and put
them in here?” asks Dr. Nelson. The bottle was ten pills
short. But since Audrea hadn’t kept count, she didn’t
know how many she used and how many Skyler may have eaten. “Probably
less than a baby’s handful, maybe five or six pills might
have been a toxic dose for him. Certainly ten pills potentially
could be a lethal dose for him,” explains Dr. Nelson.

If he’s swallowed any of the pills, the potassium will
glow on an x-ray. “One of the positive things about potassium
is that it shows up on x-ray, so we can often tell if children
have had it,” says Dr. Nelson, “You can see that [Skyler’s
x-ray] looks like it’s full of fluids and gas, but you don’t
see anything that looks like radiopaque capsules in his belly.”

“We also, to make sure, took a blood test to check his
potassium level and his potassium level was normal,” says
the doctor. “Good, no, no, it was good,” she says to
Audrea after receiving the results. “He didn’t take
any?” Audrea asks relieved. “No, uh-uh, the result
is four which is cold normal,” explains the doctor.

He didn’t take any. Skyler can go home. The doctor’s
advice for any kind of medication- “Locked, high and childproof.”

Potassium is an important mineral that is used by the body
to assist with muscle contraction and to help maintain fluid and electrolyte
balance. According to experts at the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academies’ Food and Nutrition Board, men and women over the age of
18 should receive 2,000 milligrams of potassium per day. Sources of potassium
include vegetables such as artichokes, lima beans and potatoes; fruits such
as apricots, peaches and bananas; meats such as veal, pork and fish; and
dairy products such as buttermilk and yogurt.

An overdose of potassium, however, can have deadly consequences,
and it can be a poisonous substance if ingested by children. According
to experts at the Mayo Clinic, a poison is any substance that can
cause harm to your body. Your child can ingest a poison in a variety
of ways, such as by eating it, inhaling it into the lungs or absorbing
it through the skin. The most dangerous poisons are:

• Pest control agents
• Medicines, including iron pills
• Cleaning products that can cause burns, such as drain opener,
  toilet bowl cleaner, oven cleaner and rust remover
• Antifreeze
• Windshield washer solution
• Hydrocarbons, such as furniture polish, lighter fluid, lamp
  oil, kerosene, turpentine and paint thinner
• Carbon monoxide
• Pesticides
• Wild mushrooms

The American Association of Poison Control Centers offers these
tips to help keep children safe from potassium and other dangerous substances:

• Move poisonous products and medicines out of the reach and sight
  of children.
• Store poisonous products in their original labeled containers.
• Keep medicines, vitamins and household products in containers
  with child-resistant caps.
• Before using a potentially poisonous product, carefully read
  the label on the bottle.
• While using a potentially poisonous product, never leave it
  unattended. A child may find it.
• After using a potentially poisonous product, put it back in
  a locked cabinet. Make sure the container is closed tightly.
• Never call medicine “candy.” Children may eat medicine
  thinking it is candy.
• Do not take or give medicine in front of children or while another
  child is watching.
• Keep the telephone number of your local poison control center
  on or near your telephones.

Experts at the Mayo Clinic also encourage parents to be aware of
the following signs, which may mean your child has ingested something
he/she shouldn’t have:

• Trouble breathing, speaking or crying
• Ineffective coughing
• Wheezing or noisy breathing
• Trouble swallowing
• Drooling or spitting up saliva
• Loss of consciousness

Institute of
Medicine of the National Academies’ Food
and Nutrition Board
Mayo Clinic
American Association of Poison Control Centers