ATLANTA — The CDC says it is seeing an increase in calls to poison control centers since March.
Most of those calls are related to children ages five and younger ingesting cleaners and disinfectants. The news led to one mother and pediatric nurse sharing her daughter's story which she describes as the most horrific moment of her life.
"I noticed she wasn't breathing," Katie Wiltsey said.
She described, in detail, the moment her toddler swallowed lighter fuel while in the yard of a friend's home.
"I started giving her mouth to mouth and about that time the ambulance pulled up and one of the paramedics, before the ambulance even stopped, jumped out and scooped her up."
Her daughter, Tess, eventually recovered and was able to return home a week later. Yet, Wiltsey reminded others that not everyone is that lucky.
She's been a nurse for 17 years and recently learned of a similar case where a child ingested tiki torch oil.
"This child also ingested hydrocarbon and had a not happy ending, so I mean, same age, two years old, they are inquisitive, they are into everything, they are curious about everything," she said.
The pediatric nurse said this could happen to anyone, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where parents are already stretched thin.
“It’s super important with everyone being at home, right now, with your children," Wiltsey said. "Everybody is stressed, everybody is busy. We are trying to be teachers and still work and take of our children."
What happened to her daughter happened within an arm's reach of an adult. Wiltsey said it's important to not only safeguard your home but the hidden areas outside of your home, too.
"I think, when we think of safeguarding our homes, we think of inside our home or you're thinking outside is a safe place, but there’s dangers everywhere," she said.
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