What is syrup of ipecac

But, be prepared:. The longer story: It seemed to make sense. If someone swallowed poison and then threw up, they shouldn't get sick. This treatment approach was used for decades. People who swallowed poison used to be given many ineffective remedies:.

Sometimes, these remedies did cause vomiting. But they often caused problems of their own. For example, too much salt caused sodium poisoning, seizures and even death.

Gagging someone often caused throat bleeding and swelling. Also, these home remedies were never reliable enough to be used to treat poisoning. And complicated charts about what remedy went with what poisoning were confusing. Small brown bottles of ipecac syrup seemed to solve these problems.

When given to children or adults, ipecac made most of them throw up within minutes. What we know now: It turns out that a big piece of the picture was missing. Yes, ipecac made people throw up, whether or not they swallowed poison. But did throwing up keep them from actually getting sick from the poison? After decades of ipecac use for poisoning, researchers looked at all of the evidence about ipecac syrup. Now, the organization asks its members to emphasize to parents to NOT use ipecac for poison control.

The guidelines were published in the medical journal Pediatrics, as a result of growing evidence that ipecac use is not effective and can even interfere with other remedies for poison ingestion.

When too much ipecac is used, it can cause damage to the heart and other muscles, and may even cause death. Do not give this medicine to unconscious or very drowsy persons, since the vomited material may enter the lungs and cause pneumonia. Water may be given first in the case of a small or scared child.

Do not take this medicine with milk, milk products, or with carbonated beverages. Milk or milk products may prevent this medicine from working properly, and carbonated beverages may cause swelling of the stomach. If vomiting does not occur within 20 to 30 minutes after you have taken the first dose of this medicine, take a second dose.

If vomiting does not occur after you have taken the second dose, you must immediately see your doctor or go to an emergency room.

If you have been told to take both this medicine and activated charcoal to treat the poisoning, do not take the activated charcoal until after you have taken this medicine to cause vomiting and vomiting has stopped. This takes usually about 30 minutes. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine.

If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light.

Keep from freezing. This medicine in amounts of more than 1 ounce is available only with your doctor's prescription. However, before using ipecac syrup, call a poison control center, your doctor, or an emergency room for advice. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.

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