POISONING MISHAPS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30286, 12 November 1963, Page 6

POISONING MISHAPS

Nine Children Admitted Nine children were admitted to the Christchurch Hospital last week after taking poisons or overdoses of drugs. In four cases these were sedativeo. This was the biggest number of children admitted to the hospital after poisoning accidents in any week since the hospital began to take out weekly figures of these accidents. Luckily, none of the children was seriously affected and all were sent home within two days of admission. A girl of 21 months and a boy of two, next-door neighbours. shared some sedatives and both were admitted to hospital on November 8. They were discharged next day. Two other children, a girl of 18 months and a boy of three, were admitted on November 6 after taking sedatives, but in this instance there was no connexion between the two. Both were discharged on November 7. On November 9 a Maori baby boy of eight months swallowed rat-poison, but was not apparently, seriously incommoded. He was sent home next day. A girl of three drank metal-cleaning fluid on November 4; she also was kept in hospital only one day. A boy of eight who consumed two cakes of camphor on November 7. however, was in for two days. A boy of two ate a large number of fluoride tablets and was admitted on November 8, being sent home next day. A boy of 13 months drank disinfectant. He was admitted on November 10 and discharged on November 11.

Survivors Home. The three survivors of the open 17ft Manihiki boat which drifted in the South Pacific for 63 days flew home to the Cook Islands yesterday to a tumultuous welcome from their families and friends Rarotonga, November 9.