4-year-old girl rushed to hospital after swallowing pills found in rubbish bin
· Citizen
Two young children had to be rushed to hospital in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday after they both swallowed medication in separate incidents.
In the first incident, a four-year-old girl swallowed pills that are thought to have been found in a rubbish bin in Amouti.
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According to security and emergency response company Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa), the young girl was given the pills by another child while they were playing outside.
The girl’s mother said her daughter began vomiting after she came inside to eat a meal.
“The woman questioned the children her daughter had been playing with and was informed that another child had retrieved unidentified pills from a bin and given them to her four-year-old daughter, who subsequently consumed them,” said Rusa.
Young girl lost consciousness
The mother tried to rush her daughter to the hospital in a taxi, but the young girl lost consciousness while on the way. She then decided to go to the Rusa headquarters, which was closer.
“Rusa paramedics, who were attending to an unrelated medical emergency, immediately rushed to the headquarters after being alerted to the situation.”
Rusa said the unconscious child was taken to Osindisweni Government Hospital for emergency medical care.
2-year-old consumes antipsychotic medication
Earlier on Saturday, Rusa was at another scene in Parkgate, KZN, where a two-year-old boy swallowed antipsychotic medication at his home.
“Rusa received an urgent call for assistance at 11:45am after the child reportedly became ill and began losing consciousness.”
Rusa said the boy found the pills while his grandmother was doing laundry outside.
The grandmother called for help after the toddler became ill.
“Upon arrival, paramedics established that the medication was an antipsychotic drug prescribed to an occupant of the residence. The medication had reportedly been left unattended and was accessible to the child,” said Rusa.
The two-year-old was stabilised at the scene before being taken to Osindisweni Government Hospital for further medical care.