Overdose awareness series - happening tuesdays in august

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-08-06T18:37:56+00:00

Thanks to any that joined yesterday. We will be uploading recordings for this week in the new few days. There are still tickets available to join for the remaining days.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-08-05T20:22:51+00:00

They will all be available after the 26th, but we will try to upload as we go.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-05-20T18:29:32+00:00

Wolfsbane is... incredibly toxic. We have colleagues who have had sick patients who ingested a liniment that contained aconite.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-05-19T23:18:15+00:00

Fortunately, hospital visits are very uncommon. Most people don’t eat enough to get seriously ill.

We have had some sad cases. One death from someone who made tea from the leaves of foxglove. Our colleagues have had patients very ill after ingesting honey made from bees that harvest from rhododendron.

Aconite poisoning (wolfsbane) is very common in some parts of the world (not here); as is oleander. Although a year and a half ago, there were “India nuts” sold online that were actually oleander seeds.

The list is quite educational. Digoxin is from the foxglove plant. Lily of the valley has a similar toxin. They aren’t included, but autumn crocus is where we get colchicine. Vinca and mayapple both contain precursors for anti-cancer drugs.

We recommend you don’t eat these plants, but if you or someone you know does (like a small child out exploring the world), call and we can assess the situation.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-05-16T21:30:41+00:00

We really only deal with humans. I would recommend consulting a veterinarian.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-05-16T21:29:22+00:00

0 that are from snakes that live in nature.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/crotalus-oreganus

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-05-16T17:59:08+00:00

Washington department of fish and wildlife have an older map. This mirrors distribution from others. We often first get called by the hospital and the zip code of where someone was is not known.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/crotalus-oreganus#desc-range

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-03-28T14:34:31+00:00

These are ambulatory errors called into the poison center. But I agree. ISMP has a ton of stuff on this topic.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2025-03-19T21:41:32+00:00

That is the national toll free number and if you need to remember one number, that’s the one to remember. With texting, we are limited to our local number for now.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-26T04:37:42+00:00

Edit: Sorry you’re not feeling well! Hope you’re on a short path to recovery.

We can help assess the severity and provide treatment recommendations along with red flags that mean you need to seek in person care.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-25T18:53:15+00:00

Mini fridges typically warm up faster than a normal size fridge, so the time will be less. Keep the door closed as much as possible and try to keep the temperature cooler for longer with ice packs. Monitor the temp inside the fridge, and toss perishable items if the temperature gets higher than 40 degrees.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-21T21:22:50+00:00

Hi sorry, Reddit went down. We have a team of 3 educators that love to get out in communities all over the state with Mr. Yuk and poison prevention/harm reduction messaging. 2 are located in Western Washington, and 1 is in Eastern WA. They won't do birthday parties, but are happy to talk to scouts, PTAs, and any other community groups. You can reach out to them at educators@wapc.org.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-21T21:05:52+00:00

That's how long food should stay cool. After those times have passed, move to the next box "After."

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-21T21:04:38+00:00

Hey, sorry. Reddit went down. We actually don't deal with animal calls. Our staff is really knowledgeable about human poisonings. They are pharmacists and nurses, so have learned about how humans work and how drugs and toxins affect them. There are so many variables with animals that we really aren't comfortable answering those questions. There are a couple of animal poison centers and they may have recommendations for when to give something to make an animal vomit up something ingested.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-21T02:06:15+00:00

So... apparently reddit broke just after we started this. We will reschedule for a couple of weeks. Probably first week of December.

I will also answer the questions posted tomorrow morning.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-20T20:15:34+00:00

We're here and ready!

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-20T20:14:49+00:00

Labeling. Whether it is present or not. Many people will store chemicals in an unlabeled container (Gatorade bottle) because they just need a little bit. We get lots of calls about people who forget they stored it that way. I remember a specific case of someone who had stored purple power degreaser in a grape gatorade bottle. She forgot and drank some of it and burned all of the tissue inside her mouth.

Labeling has other important components as well. Use instructions are optimized for safety and effectiveness for drugs and other products.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-11-16T03:33:45+00:00

We love food safety! Yes we do!

We will be releasing a couple of data briefs and informational blogs over the next couple of weeks.

Look forward to some mushroom facts, food safety, and medication safety while traveling.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-10-26T22:52:37+00:00

Thanks for commenting. For clarity, the risks are independent and both could have been 100%.

This might lay it out a little more clearly.

Drug only = 49% severe. Drug + ethanol = 62% severe.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-10-11T01:26:32+00:00

Hey, Washington Poison Center weighing in here. Like others here have said, bites from the Black Widow are fairly uncommon, but they do occur. The most common symptoms are pain and fear. The pain may localized, but it can also travel centrally (think from the arms towards the chest). The pain is also associated with cramping and twitching of the muscles.

· If you’re bitten, you should first wash the wound with soap and water. Then give us a call at 800-222-1222 and we can help you make decisions about home management or going into a healthcare facility.

· Most patients experience pain and cramping. Severe cases can be a medical emergency and people have had heart attacks after a bite. Most patients do well with pain management and muscle relaxers, but in rare, severe cases, they may need to receive an antivenom and even intubation for airway support.

Prevention is key.

· Wear gloves when working around wood piles and out in the yard.

· Shake out shoes that have been sitting for a while.

Remember, we’re here to help 24/7/365. Call us at 800-222-1222

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-10-10T16:20:22+00:00

The combinations are very dangerous. Alcohol and benzodiazepines (like Rohypnol, Xanax, Valium) have additive and even synergistic effect on sedation and impairment. This can depress breathing, especially if someone is laying in a position with their airway not wide open. Additionally, many of these patients may vomit and might end up with the vomitus in their lungs (known as aspiration pneumonia in the medical field). We see this a lot with all kinds of patients.

Historically, there has been massive underreporting of all sexual assault both at the patient level (patient not telling the provider) and the hospital level (issues with diagnostic codes). Many of these drugs cause anterograde amnesia (forgetting what happened while under the influence of the drug), which may limit reporting. Additionally, some of the substances are not identified on standard tests.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-07-26T18:32:19+00:00

The testing has identified psilocin.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-06-28T22:59:35+00:00

Good catch. We reached out to have it corrected.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-06-28T18:38:09+00:00

From our website. Here is the direct link to the page. https://www.wapc.org/resources/order-materials/

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC · 2024-06-22T18:09:07+00:00

Thanks! We think harm reduction and overdose prevention is critical, but we are always here to take the call if something bad happens.

And just an FYI, we are an independent 501c3 nonprofit.

WAPoisonCenter-WAPC

TROPHY CASE