University of South Carolina Libraries
Poison Con By RODNEY FOUSHEE Staff Writer The phone rings about 3 a.m., and John Holladay rolls off the worn couch on the third floor of the Coker Life Sciences Building. It's Grand Strand General Hospital. They've got an overdose victim. "Pump the stomach, watch for vital sign iiicuigc:*, twjnaKxay Mp. v^oii nit uaciv in 15 minutes." The female patient has a terrible headache the next day, but she is alive thanks to Holladay and the Palmetto Poison Control Center. The center, operated from USC's College of Pharmacy, is the only poison control resource in South Carolina, said Dr. Brooks Metis, the center's director. It serves all 46 counties in the state and 13 counties in Georgia. The center operates a 24-hour toll-free telephone line that provides hospitals and the public with information and treatments concerning exposure to poisonous substances. Many calls are emergencies. The OPEN JAM OPEI 11 OPEN ^ in the Golden S Jl You bring the instr q ?|!? We bring thefsou ^ Thursday, Augu >?3, 2p.m.-unti, ? ?1 Th? program sa p*rt, fey stwJ?S ??r> O JMVf N3dO W >C Don'1 2S?L Th<Xt 5*^ Feelii 2 Weeks for or 4 Weeks for Columbia Ti in 5 Point 2005 Greene Street Place a small deposit on your college and monthly payments will be charge your MasterCard, Visa or Discove until the balance is paid. HHERFFJONES i I ? Thursday, Friday, an< August 26, 27, and 30 - 10:( University Bookstore -1 No Deposit Req Ar i itrol Center /^antnr Kne rvt ianet Ann I i Ann en/1 nKirmnPiet ctiuu uo5 ai lv-ooi uui puaiiuavui on duty at all times, Metts said. "We handle about 100 calls a day," Metts said. These include both information and actual exposure calls. The center had over 35,000 exposure calls last year. An exposure is defined as contact with a "questionable" substance. USC pharmacy students help answer phones between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Exposure calls vary from exposure to industrial chemicals, drug overdoses, gasses and fumes, and insect and animal bites to ingestion of medicines, cleaning agents, personal care products and poisonous plants and berries. People come in contact with every imaginable poison, Metts said. Once an exposure call is logged in, the person's weight, age and kind of substance and amount of exposure are determined from a series of questions and recorded. The person's address is also recorded in case they need to be referred to the nearest hospital, Metts said. The center has a computer data base, Poisondex, which allows quick access to ^ JAM O I , I *"0 A JTM RSLfiHl ^ <?i pur !> iips nd!H Jjj| ^ .st 26 ?? ? > 1 ? " VI N3dO tLose Summer ng! $28.00 $40.00 in Spa Q > 779-2177 | iries fflllilll jnn ill dto r | d Monday )0 AM -3:00 PM lussell House uired provides ir more than 1,000 books of informatioi stored on CD-ROM. In seconds, the lates information on any substance from Rai( roacn spray to u.a. Army cnemica weapons is displayed. Doses, symptoms and complications art shown. Treatments are also advised. Tht center also has hundreds more books 01 microfdm as well as an extensive library o hardcover books. Once treatment is recommended, the cen ter might call the person back every 15 min utes to determine if further action is needed More than 70 percent of all calls the cente handles need no further medical attention Metts said. But Metts' advice is to "call a soon as any poisoning is suspected," witl early treatment being crucial. The service drastically reduces medica costs in South Carolina and saves lives b} preventing unnecessary emergency roon visits for minor cases. However, the servic< encourages medical treatment for seriou: cases, Metts said. An average emergenc; room visit will cost at least $200, he added. According to Metts, the center receive Ba You I In S( You've got enough t your roommate's la You don't need to w there's Bargain Che \Uith T^arrrain Phan]/ VVIU1I LJ<JLL CI 111 writing privileges account to avoid a 1 Plus, and this is a s A BARGAIN CHEC MONTHLY SERVK BALANCE REQUII But wait, there's mi any new Bargain CI August 23-26. And, FlexCard II*, you a for all kinds of infor Hev. colleee mav be v ' y~s 1/ bargain. You must apply and qualify for FlexCard II. Both FlexCard rw lformation, s 1 more calls from the public than from hospit tals. The hospital calls are usually more 1 serious but not always, he said. 1 Most of the public calls are from mothers whose children have taken medicines, Metts 1 said. Children under the age of five account 2 for more than 60 percent of the accidental t poisonings in the United States. f They take too many vitamins, too much cough syrup and other adult medicines that - taste good, Metts said. Only three ibuprofen - tablets can be a serious danger to a small child. r Children also eat other poisonous materi, als including household cleaners, houses plants and even cigarette butts. Three or i more cigarette butts or a whole cigarette can lead to nicotine poisoning in children, 1 \ A 1 1VICILS "xrtlU. / The center also receives calls from adults 1 who are exposed to poisons. 2 "People accidentally brush their teeth s with Preparation-H and rinse their mouth / with bleach," Metts said. After answering calls for more than 15 years, Metts has s adopted the motto "Why ask why?" orgai irWi nou? 3hoo o worry about - term p undry hanging from the orry about money too.r icking at South Carolina ing, you receive unlimi and it takes only $100 ow $3.50 monthly serv erious bonus, USC FRI IKING ACCOUNT WIT IE CHARGES AND N( CEMENTS FOR THE I ore. Everyone gets a gr lecking account openec , with the help of your I m call Phone Access 2^ mation on your accoun ! tough, but now at leas ' Rex Banking" >uth Carolina Nation Member! and FlexCard II may be used at any Honor or Cirros banking machi t The center receives quite a few exposures to snake and spider bites in the summer as well as jellyfish stings from the beach, Mpttc cuirt Ahmit S nprrpnt nf thp ppntpr'c ^ F""""" "'V VV""" " calls come from pet owners and veterinarians. Even small doses of human medicines can harm or kill dogs and other small pets, said Holladay, a USC graduate student. The center also serves as a teaching site for pharmacists such as Holladay and medical interns and pharmacy undergraduates. Amy Link, a pharmacy senior, has been working for the center for a year and a half. Link and other students gain valuable experience from answering calls. The center has helped broaden her understanding of the need for poison information, Link said. The center also provides information and programs for poison prevention such as Mr. Yuk stickers, a green scowling face placed on all household chemicals, for children and pamphlets for adults. The center can be reached at 1-800-9221117 or in Columbia at 765-7359. n ay I apers, exams, ; ceiling fan. rhat's why a National. ted check in your ice charge. 5SHMEN GET H NO ) MINIMUM TRST YEAR! 'eat gift with 1 on campus, dexCard or 1 hours a day t. it money's a al =DIC. nes throughout the country and the world. ^ J