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- May 2, 2005
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We got our semsterly newsletter today and there was a section of warstories from other students at Buffalo. These were 2 doozies. Both potentially dangerous and 1 stupid and 1 nutty. Luckily, ive never heard anything quite this bad.
#1)So there I was, standing at the counter on a bustling Saturday morning when a scruffily dressed, but clean, late middle-aged woman walked up and asked if we carried Benedryl IM injections. As this was an unusual item, I asked the pharmacist on hand if we had any. He replied that we did not and that we could order one... but more importantly, why did she want one? So, I relayed the information to the patient and inquired about why she wanted this injection. Rather than answer the question directly, she launched into a disjointed explanation of her allergy symptoms and how previous medications had not worked for her. I then ran down the laundry list of prescription and non-prescription medications that could be used to treat what seemed to be pretty severe nasal allergies. She again related that Singular, nasal steroids, and other anti-histamines had all failed. I then asked about any environmental factors that might be causing her symptoms. She replied that she was not allergic to any types of pollen or molds, to her knowledge. When I mentioned pets, she grinned dreamily and told me that she had cats at home. Figuring that I had found the source of her problems, I asked whether she kept them out of bedroom and other such prevented measures. I also asked about whether she would consider giving them up or at least keeping them at someone else's house. At this point, she glared at me (if looks could kill, I'd be toast) and told me that she would never give up her cats, but that after she got rid of 10 of them, her symptoms seemed to improve. She continued that she would never let go of the OTHER 10 as doing so would break her heart. My jaw hit the floor when I considered the cost of food and litter, let alone the hairy mess of her house. Stunned, but undeterred, I tried to regain some sense of sanity in this conversation and asked why she didn't just take oral Benedryl. Then, she launched another rambling story of how when she was stung by a bee and couldn't breathe, an ambulance had taken her to the hospital where she was given a shot that cleared up her symptoms instantly. Realizing that this was epinephrine and not Benedryl, I tried to explain her that what she received at the hospital was not Benedryl. Annoyed and disinteresting in what I had to say, she interrupted me by complaining about the sores she was getting at her injection sites. Since this lady was already a whack-job, I immediately suspected IV drug abuse and asked what she was injecting. Only then did learn why she had asked about Benedryl IM. She had been crushing Benedryl tablets, mixing them with tap water, and giving herself IM injections in her thigh. All I could think of were little shards of the bright pink outer-shell of the tablet ripping through her muscle. At this point I looked the patient directly in her glassy and unfocused eyes and told her that she had to stop that right away and talk to her doctor. At the mention of doctors and stopping her injections, she told me I was no help and abruptly walked out. When I tried to ask the pharmacist who she was so we might be able to contact her doctor or some other authority, he replied that he had never seen her before. So, somewhere out there today, there is a half-insane old cat-lady injecting herself with OTC drugs to stop her allergies. Talk about a need for some serious patient education
#2)A woman in her early thirties approached the counter distraught and crying; she was in search of comfort because she thought that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She frantically looked around for someone who could answer her questions and settle her fears. I, as I usually did when a patient came up to the counter asked how I could help her today. Her response was far from what I had expected:
I was in line with my two children (the oldest being 11 years old and the youngest 10 months old,) at Tops waiting to cash out my groceries when I had to go to the bathroom. I left my kids in line to hold our spot and while I was gone, my 11 year old started to put the groceries from the cart on to the check out belt. My 10 month old child went into my purse and pulled out an Altoids container that I had in my purse and started to shake it like a rattle. When my 11 yr old saw him shaking the Altoids, he yelled at him and took the Altoids container away from him. What my oldest son was not aware of was that my youngest got the Altoids container from my purse. Thinking he was doing the responsible thing, he placed the container back on the self where he thought his little brother got it from. I returned from the bathroom and finished checking out the groceries and left. A few hours later when we were already home; it was time to take my medication. I went in to my purse to get my Tylenol with codeine tablets which I keep in an Altoids container, and to my fearful surprise, the Altoids container was gone! I quickly ran to my children and asked them if they had gone in my purse. Then I realized what had happened. I called Tops to have them get the container of the shelf only to find out that my nightmare had just got worse. Tops had sold my Altoids container to another customer!
It ends up that the person who bought the container returned it to Tops very upset. No one was hurt! Medication comes in sealed containers for a reason, leave it there! Keep out of reach of children.
#1)So there I was, standing at the counter on a bustling Saturday morning when a scruffily dressed, but clean, late middle-aged woman walked up and asked if we carried Benedryl IM injections. As this was an unusual item, I asked the pharmacist on hand if we had any. He replied that we did not and that we could order one... but more importantly, why did she want one? So, I relayed the information to the patient and inquired about why she wanted this injection. Rather than answer the question directly, she launched into a disjointed explanation of her allergy symptoms and how previous medications had not worked for her. I then ran down the laundry list of prescription and non-prescription medications that could be used to treat what seemed to be pretty severe nasal allergies. She again related that Singular, nasal steroids, and other anti-histamines had all failed. I then asked about any environmental factors that might be causing her symptoms. She replied that she was not allergic to any types of pollen or molds, to her knowledge. When I mentioned pets, she grinned dreamily and told me that she had cats at home. Figuring that I had found the source of her problems, I asked whether she kept them out of bedroom and other such prevented measures. I also asked about whether she would consider giving them up or at least keeping them at someone else's house. At this point, she glared at me (if looks could kill, I'd be toast) and told me that she would never give up her cats, but that after she got rid of 10 of them, her symptoms seemed to improve. She continued that she would never let go of the OTHER 10 as doing so would break her heart. My jaw hit the floor when I considered the cost of food and litter, let alone the hairy mess of her house. Stunned, but undeterred, I tried to regain some sense of sanity in this conversation and asked why she didn't just take oral Benedryl. Then, she launched another rambling story of how when she was stung by a bee and couldn't breathe, an ambulance had taken her to the hospital where she was given a shot that cleared up her symptoms instantly. Realizing that this was epinephrine and not Benedryl, I tried to explain her that what she received at the hospital was not Benedryl. Annoyed and disinteresting in what I had to say, she interrupted me by complaining about the sores she was getting at her injection sites. Since this lady was already a whack-job, I immediately suspected IV drug abuse and asked what she was injecting. Only then did learn why she had asked about Benedryl IM. She had been crushing Benedryl tablets, mixing them with tap water, and giving herself IM injections in her thigh. All I could think of were little shards of the bright pink outer-shell of the tablet ripping through her muscle. At this point I looked the patient directly in her glassy and unfocused eyes and told her that she had to stop that right away and talk to her doctor. At the mention of doctors and stopping her injections, she told me I was no help and abruptly walked out. When I tried to ask the pharmacist who she was so we might be able to contact her doctor or some other authority, he replied that he had never seen her before. So, somewhere out there today, there is a half-insane old cat-lady injecting herself with OTC drugs to stop her allergies. Talk about a need for some serious patient education
#2)A woman in her early thirties approached the counter distraught and crying; she was in search of comfort because she thought that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She frantically looked around for someone who could answer her questions and settle her fears. I, as I usually did when a patient came up to the counter asked how I could help her today. Her response was far from what I had expected:
I was in line with my two children (the oldest being 11 years old and the youngest 10 months old,) at Tops waiting to cash out my groceries when I had to go to the bathroom. I left my kids in line to hold our spot and while I was gone, my 11 year old started to put the groceries from the cart on to the check out belt. My 10 month old child went into my purse and pulled out an Altoids container that I had in my purse and started to shake it like a rattle. When my 11 yr old saw him shaking the Altoids, he yelled at him and took the Altoids container away from him. What my oldest son was not aware of was that my youngest got the Altoids container from my purse. Thinking he was doing the responsible thing, he placed the container back on the self where he thought his little brother got it from. I returned from the bathroom and finished checking out the groceries and left. A few hours later when we were already home; it was time to take my medication. I went in to my purse to get my Tylenol with codeine tablets which I keep in an Altoids container, and to my fearful surprise, the Altoids container was gone! I quickly ran to my children and asked them if they had gone in my purse. Then I realized what had happened. I called Tops to have them get the container of the shelf only to find out that my nightmare had just got worse. Tops had sold my Altoids container to another customer!
It ends up that the person who bought the container returned it to Tops very upset. No one was hurt! Medication comes in sealed containers for a reason, leave it there! Keep out of reach of children.
