Son drank screen wash - posting for traffic

[Beckyda1]

2yr old drank screen wash. Tesco one.. called 111 been told to keep an eye. I feel this isnt great advice. Wibu to take him a & e?

Just went back and checked. Your ds is 2.
Wtf?

There’s no WAY 111 would have dared NOT say A & E.

i would take advice of 111 on this. there is something in that kind of product to make it taste really bitter so kids wont drink it. presumably he took a mouthful and spat it out. if it has nothing corrosive in it i would stay put.

111 used to send me to a and e if my children sneezed funny.

It really depends on the ingredients of the screen wash. We put an antifreeze in our boat when we store it over winter (cold climate). The antifreeze is called "non-toxic propylene glycol antifreeze" so not all antifreeze is toxic.

Hope he's okay

There is every chance 111 gave this advice - those saying anything else are just playing amateur doctor.

And a & e is overloaded by parents bringing in children who simply do not need to be there. This "Better safe than sorry" attitude means that some children who are genuine emergencies risk having treatment delayed by others who should either be at home or waiting to see the GP.

I imagine the best thing to do is to seek medical help from A&E and take the bottle to show.

But I must admit when I saw the title I wondered whether it was a poor joke by a play on ‘traffic’. Hope not.

HOW does a child drink screen wash?!

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read ... you're son is 2 and drank screenwash and your 2nd port of call was mumsnet ????

I work for a service closely related to 111 and I will say it again, this wouldn’t happen.

I can believe 111 would say it. My son drank antifreeze and our GP told us to keep an eye on him. They rang the poison information service and told us that as it had bittering agent in it, it was very unlikely he swallowed any. They said if we took him to A&E they would admit him for observation only and we could do that at home. (He was fine BTW)

I work for a service closely related to 111 and I will say it again, this wouldn’t happen.

So what? You're saying OP is lying? Or that she totally misheard or misunderstood what 111 were saying? Or she called the wrong number and someone else gave her the advice other than 111? Please elaborate.

proventiallady why do you say that?

I work in ED and whilst 111 has many many (many!) faults, as a PP said, it is notoriously cautious and will send many things direct to us. Therefore, with the same toxicity info that we have (via toxbase) you can be sure if they haven't sent someone to ED for a poison query, they don't need to be there.

As it is, OPs probably doesn't need ED. So long as he's asympyomatic, all they will do if keep an eye for 4-6 hours post ingestion. If he got any in his eyes etc he may need washouts but it's not paticularly toxic.

BUT OP has equally done nothing wrong in going to ED if she's concerned. With a decade of experience in emergency care I can assure you, a worried parent is not the cause of the A&E overcrowding crisis

This site can be ridiculous in how it treats people and how some posters with no medical knowledge and frankly often no common sense love a bandwagon to jump on. Some posters telling OP she's stupid and irresponsible for not going directly to A&E rather than posting for a second opinion, then some telling her she's irresponsible for going and misusing the service. FFS.

@Notthemessiah how on earth would TPL know? All she's saying is 111 shouldn't/wouldn't have said that, she would have no way of knowing why they did or why OP thinks they did!?

She didn't say 'shouldn't happen' - she said 'wouldn't happen' - big difference between the two or are you just being deliberately disingenuous?

Notthemessiah

There is every chance 111 gave this advice - those saying anything else are just playing amateur doctor.

Thank goodness you're not then, ay?

I find it slightly odd so many people are posting effectively saying 111, medical professionals with access to a poisons unit and a poisons database, are wrong. Don't listen to them, listen to me! Some random off the internet with no medical training obviously knows best!

111 also have access to product databases and safety data sheets. Tesco provide them with confidential documents detailing ingredients.

If it did contain a toxic alcohol, it would be listed in the ingredients. Most screenwashes these days have phased it out because, toxic

A&e medics don’t have specific toxicology training. They will check the same sources 111 does and therefore access the same information.

Npis and uk poisons centre are for the use of medical professionals only, btw. If a member of the public phone they will direct them towards 111...

Basic rule .... do not worry about what people think of you where your child's safety is at risk

"I don't want to look mad "....who fucking cares ?? I hope your ds is fine but stop it ,stop thinking about being embarrassed where safety is concerned ...who gives a shit if they think you're nuts....its not a hoax use if A and E

Dont want to appear as though I'm minimising your worry OP but how on earth did a 2 year old get the top off a bottle of screenwash?!! I have trouble sometimes and I'm a fit and healthy grown up!

Thank goodness you're not then, ay?

Yes, thank goodness.

I really hope OP’s child is ok.