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Syrup of Ipecac is no longer recommended for home use.
Throw Out Your Syrup of Ipecac
The Northern
New
England
Poison
Center no longer recommends
ipecac for home treatment of poisonings. It is not clear whether
using ipecac is helpful when treating poisonings. Ipecac can cause harm if not used
properly. Consider storing a special type of activated
charcoal at home if the closest emergency department or ambulance
service is more than one hour away.
What is Ipecac?
Ipecac syrup is medicine made from a plant that
grows in Brazil . It causes patients to vomit.
Ipecac has been available without a prescription since 1965.
Why did poison centers recommend ipecac for
poisoning?
Experts thought that vomiting
removed poison from the stomach before it was absorbed into the
bloodstream. Studies show that vomiting brings up less than half of
the substance swallowed. Using ipecac 30 minutes or more after
exposure removes little poison.
Why not recommend ipecac
now?
- Ipecac may not help.
- Ipecac may delay other more effective
treatments for poisoning.
- Ipecac can worsen poisoning in some cases
(acids, gasoline, lamp oil, others).
- Ipecac
is unsafe if given often (for weight loss, misuse by
parents).
How to prepare for a poisoning at
home:
Keep the Poison Center hotline number (1-800-222-1222) by the
phone. Also call this number for poison prevention
information. If you live more than one hour from emergency services,
contact the Poison Center to ask if you should store activated charcoal
at home. Be aware that weather conditions may add to travel
time. Never use activated charcoal before calling the
Poison Center or your physician.
What is activated charcoal?
Activated
charcoal is a nonprescription medicine used to treat
poisonings. It is available at some pharmacies.
Activated charcoal binds to poison in the stomach and
intestines. The poison is no longer active once it binds to
activated charcoal. The patient then passes the charcoal (with
poison attached) in the stool. It is important to buy the
right kind of activated charcoal. The kind used to treat
poisoning is a gritty powder or powder mixed with fluid.
Charcoal tablets and capsules do not bind poisons well enough for
use as an antidote.

Poison Center Homepage

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