Two girls aged four from Anenii Noi district were admitted to the Intensive Care Section of the Mother and Child Institute after they swallowed pills that they found at a waste dump in the settlement while playing. The girls were left without supervision. The parents asked for medical assistance only when they saw that the girls felt sick. The mother of one of them said she worked in the fields when her daughter went to play together with the other girl.
Natalia Stipan, reanimatologist-anesthesiologist of the Pediatric Reanimatology and Toxicology Section, has told IPN that the girls were admitted in a very serious condition, with acute polydrug poisoning. They were somnolent, weak and apathetic. They underwent the required procedures and are showing signs of recovery.
Doctors warn paying increased attention to the children, especially in summer, because vigilance often decreases in moments of relaxation. The children younger than five must be permanently supervised because they are very curious and tend to touch and taste all kinds of dangerous objects. The drugs are attractive to them because they are of different colors and look like candies. These should be kept locked and thrown away in places that are not in sight when they expire.
The adults are urged to immediately seek medical assistance if they suspect that their child ingested something and not to wait for the first symptoms. The children of an early age must be taken to the hospital as quickly as possible. In other cases, the parents can consult the specialist of the TOXAPEL service on 022.555.220. This service provides telephonic assistance to parents and medical personnel, teaching them how to give first aid in case of child poisoning.
Each seventh child that is rushed to the Mother and Child Institute is diagnosed with drug poisoning. Specialists sound the alarm because 90% of the cases are the result of adults’ negligence. During six years, the REPEMOL (Regionalization of Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Service in Moldova) Project, in cooperation with the authorities, have informed the parents about the measures that they must take to prevent home accidents involving children under five within the campaign “A Danger-Free Home for your Child!”.
