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Valentine's Day
Roses are red,
violets are blue
Medicines can
look just like
candy too!
- Store medicines in their original child-resistant containers. Lock them where children can't see or reach them.
- Take medicines where children can't watch. Children learn by imitation.
- Take ONLY your own medicine.
- Take medicine exactly according to instructions on the label.
If someone takes too much medicine, or the wrong medicine, use the
webPOISONCONTROL®
online tool for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away.
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Don't forget to enter our Poster Contest!
National Poison Prevention Week is March 15-21, 2020 and the Texas Poison Center Network is again sponsoring the Poison Prevention Poster Contest.
The deadline for submissions is approaching quickly! The poster contest can provide students the opportunity to learn about poison prevention as well as the opportunity to win exciting prizes! Each entry will compete regionally for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes. The winning poster will advance to our state contest to compete for the grand prize.
For more information on how your child can enter,
to contact your poison center educator.
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A mom called because her 3-year-old son ate an unknown number of Zinc medicated fruit drops that his older sister was taking. The sister had left the bottle out in the bathroom with the lid open. The mom estimated that the bottle had between 15 and 20 drops and there were only 9 left in the bottle. The poison center specialist recommended that the child be given something to drink. She was also advised to call back if the child began to have any symptoms.
A 17-year-old boy called because he felt shaky, had a headache and was feeling agitated after his football teammate had given him some "roids." The specialist's recommendation would be to have someone drive him to a hospital emergency room right away because of the potential for serious outcomes such as seizures and high blood pressure.
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By now, most people have either stuck to their New Year's resolutions or given up completely. While many people believe January is the logical month to start their resolution; February is a great time to tackle your New Year's Resolutions in a practical way. While gaining muscle and being fit is more popular than ever before, especially with the rise of social media, the use of anabolic steroids has become a way to achieve those goals. While some anabolic steroids are prescribed, many are illegally obtained by individuals who want to develop muscle mass in a short period of time.
What are anabolic steroids?
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Anabolic steroids are synthetic, or human-made, variations of the male sex hormone testosterone. The proper term for these compounds is anabolic-androgenic steroids. "Anabolic" refers to muscle building, and "androgenic" refers to increased male sex characteristics. Some common names for anabolic steroids are Gear, Juice, Roids, and Stackers.
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Health care providers can prescribe steroids to treat hormonal issues, such as delayed puberty. Steroids can also treat diseases that cause muscle loss, such as cancer and AIDS. But some athletes and bodybuilders misuse these drugs in an attempt to boost performance or improve their physical appearance.
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People who misuse anabolic steroids usually take them orally, inject them into muscles, or apply them to the skin as a gel or cream. These doses may be 10 to 100 times higher than doses prescribed to treat medical conditions.
Steroid Effects
- Mental effects of misuse of anabolic steroids, include:
- paranoia (extreme, unreasonable) jealousy
- extreme irritability and aggression ("roid rage")
- delusions-false beliefs or ideas
- impaired judgment
- mania
- Anabolic steroid misuse might lead to serious, even permanent, health problems such as:
- kidney problems or failure
- liver damage and tumors
- enlarged heart, high blood pressure, and changes in blood cholesterol, all of which increase the risk of stroke and heart attack, even in young people
- increased risk of blood clots
- Several other effects are gender- and age-specific:
- In men:
- shrinking testicles
- decreased sperm count
- baldness
- development of breasts
- increased risk for prostate cancer
- In women:
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- growth of facial hair or excess body hair
- decreased breast size
- male-pattern baldness
- changes in or stop in the menstrual cycle
- enlarged clitoris
- deepened voice
- In teens:
- stunted growth (when high hormone levels from steroids signal to the body to stop bone growth too early)
- stunted height (if teens use steroids before their growth spurt)
Are anabolic steroids addictive?
- Anabolic steroids work differently from other drugs of abuse; they do not have the same short-term effects on the brain. The most important difference is that steroids do not directly activate the reward system to cause a "high."
- Even though anabolic steroids do not cause the same high as other drugs, they can lead to a substance use disorder which can lead to addiction.
Call for help
Remember, if you suspect that you or someone you know has been poisoned, call the toll-free Poison Help line at
your call connects you to your local poison center.
Expert help is available around the clock, every day, even on holidays! Program the poison control phone number into your cell phone today.
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