Proof Proof - Child Proof

Dhriti is a very naughty child. She is very inquisitive and wants to explore everything.

 

Something very amusing and horrifying happened on 2^nd October 2016.

 

I was in the kitchen and she was in the room unattended. We were hurriedly preparing to go to a birthday party. She suddenly came running to me making a disgusting face and said 'this doesn't taste good' I noticed her and was shocked to see her mouth covered with some powdery yellow paste.  I immediately washed her mouth, cleaned her tongue n brushed her teeth; I didn pay attention first to what she ate because I believe first aid comes first. I could not really recognize what she ate, but then I saw some pills lying down on the ground- I was shocked to see my thyroid tablets spilled on the floor!!!!She was actually attracted by the dark brown bottle which she said she assumed and consumed as Jenu Thuppa( Bottle of Honey) I started probing her with a few questions:

  

How many did you eat?

One (satisfied because she knows to count)

 

 Did you chew them?

Yes

 

How did it taste (to check if she literally consumed it)

Her answer was very innocent and funny with a yuck feeling

 

Did you put your hand into the medicine bottle or smeared it on your hand (to ensure how many she ate)

She said both

 

What did you think it is?

Honey

 

Later the tech savvy person in me arose and I started whatsapping all the doctors in my contacts living in different parts of the world. I also texted some of her previous pediatricians. The advises were contradicting. Some told us not to worry and some scared the hell out of us that we need to wash her tummy to get the tablet outside her body.

 

We immediately rushed to the nursing home to seek actual medication. The doctors started probing her and probing us with the same questions I had asked.

 

The procedure of a stomach wash is very disturbing for a 3 year old. It involves inserting a tube into the mouth of a little toddler. The tube will go down through the esophagus and will eventually enter the stomach. The doctor may spray water or saline solution down the tube before applying suction to draw out the contents of the stomach. I know all this is very disturbing and I trembled with fear.

   

However the duty doctor who saw her was pretty good and didn’t perform the above procedure. Instead he just advised an observation. They asked us to monitor her heart rate and blood count, vomiting symptoms and prevent from dehydration so that everything is stable and under the roof. Also a very interesting facet the duty doctor asked us to monitor was her Behavior. He literally said “Observe her and let me know immediately if she behaves hyperactive” We were like….Really????We only discovered that we reached a paradox!!! 

 

We finally understood the worth of child proofing at home and started following strictly the phrases “ KEEP OUT OF REACH FROM CHILDREN”