Scary Moments With Household Chemicals

When our son was a baby we put together a list of emergency numbers and posted it on the fridge. I didn’t think I would ever have to actually need to use it, but today I did make my first call to the Poison Control Hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222.

I was glad the number was right there and I didn’t have to go look it up.

I dialed the number and reached a sex hotline. I heard was “so if you are feeling horny.” I hung up. I would be that one person who would write down all the numbers to call in case of emergency and get the one that I actually need incorrect. Turns out I wrote the number down right, I just dialed wrong.

I did get to thinking that this sex line must know what they are doing.  How many freaked out parents called it by mistake, and then after dealing with a near poisoning realize that maybe they could use something to take the edge off, and call back.  

Turns out we were safe. No poisoning. Worst case scenario, a little diarrhea. The incident that led to the call was my son decided he wanted to help me wash the dishes and while up at the sink with me he picked up the sponge, put it in his mouth and sucked in as much liquid as he could.  He quickly gagged and started coughing. I grabbed a cup of water and made him drink a bunch of it.

My rule for the house is that we only use nontoxic cleaners, the ones made with essential oils that don’t destroy the environment and theoretically wouldn’t harm a curious toddler boy to the same degree bleach could. My hubby has different theories. He likes to clean with bleach, and antibacterial products that contain bleach. Just my luck, the kitchen cabinets got cleaned last night. By the time the gentleman from poison control got on the line I found that we used a rather benign substance, containing diluted hydrogen peroxide and other relatively non-lethal ingredients. We were safe!

Now it is time to go through our cleaning cabinet, relocate anything that could be lethal to the attic or the basement, double-check all of the numbers on my emergency contact list, and kiss my son goodnight and whisper to him how much I love him.

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