Newspapers / InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / Jan. 23, 1976, edition 1 / Page 1
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1 nteucom duke univeusity mcdicM ccnteR VOLUME 23, NUMBER 3 JANUARY 23,1976 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA Poison Control Director Galls for 'Oil Embargo' FASCINATING READING MATERIAL—OfUcers of the Medical School Faculty Wives Club presented Dr. William C. Aniyan, vice president for health affairs, with a check last week which will provide 30 new one year scholarships for deserving nfiedical students. The amount was an Impressive $30,000, and it was raised by the club in 1975 through sales of clothing and household items at the Nearly New Shoppe on Erwin Rd. At the same time, the ladies announced another cash gift to the School of Medicine which will bring their endowed scholarship fund to $156,000. Present on the day of the informal ceremony were, from left to right, Mrs. Ewald Busse, "shoppe" co-chairwoman; Aniyan; Mrs. Madison Spach, club treasurer; and Mrs. Charles Llewellyn, club president. Fellows Named To Iowa Post Dr. Robert E. Fellows of Duke will become head of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics in the University of Iowa College of Medicine, effective July 1. His appointment was confirmed by the State Board of Regents during the Board’s January meeting, held on the Iowa State University campus. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., the 42-year-old Fellows earned A.B., M.D, and Ph.D. degrees at Hamilton College, McGill and Duke universities, respectively: held an internship and residency in ijuernal medicine at Fhe New York Hospital, and a second residency at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. He has taught and directed research as a full-time faculty member here since 1966. He is an associate professor of physiology and pharmacology. Fellow’s appointment culminates a nationwide search by the University of Iowa College of Medicine for a chief executive officer for the department previously headed by Dr. C. Adrian M. Hogben. In addition to medical students, physiology faculty metnbet s teach students from the U of I colleges of dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and liberal arts as a part of their education in the basic life sciences. In recommending approval of the appointment. Dr. John W. Eckstein, dean of the Iowa College of (Continued on page 2) By David Williamion 'I'he clinical director of the Poison Control Center here has announced an oil embargo in North Carolina, and she’s asking all Tarheel parents to help her with the project. The goal of the embargo, which will focus on the misuse of all household products made from petroleum distillates, is to stop the accidental deaths of small children who imbibe the toxic substances without knowing how dangerous they are. Tactics will be simple, suggested Dr. Shirley Osterhout, a pediatrician who is also the mother of three. First, parents have to realize how easily cleaning agents, gasoline, lighter fluid and insecticides can kill or cause serious, possibly permanent, injuries to their children. Second, they should "poison-proof” their homes, making certain that all such liquids and powders are out of reach of young exploring hands. "The two biggest culprits are red oil furniture polish and kerosene," Dr. Osterhout said. "We had two deaths at Duke Hospital from these products during the Christmas season alone. "In one case, a 15-month-old boy from Roxboro swallowed a mouthful of kerosene from an open jar stored by the family woodpile. His mother made him vomit and put him to bed,” the pediatrician recalled. "When she checked on him later, he was blue from a lack of oxygen." The child was dead on arrival at the hospital here, and the kerosene w DR. ROBERT E. FELLOWS SIGN OF THE 77Mf5—Residents of Bell Building, that endearing and enduring red brick edifice located just north of the main medical center complex, may have begun to feel like someone was trying to tell them something last week as a series of wooden, wire and chain link fences appeared in front of the place they spend their non-leiture hours. There was no cause for alarm, however, b^ause the fences were erected to protect them from the vehicles which will soon be hauling in construction materials for the new Clinical Research III, a $6 million cancer treatment center. Construction time for the facility is estimated at two years. had turned liis lungs white under X-ray. In the second case, a 19-month-old boy from Dunn drank from a bottle of furniture polish which his mother had left open on the television. The scented liquid smelled good to the infant, and it looked like cherry soda. He also died. "We have an average of one death a year at the Poison Control Center from a single brand of furniture polish named ‘Old English,’” Dr. Osterhout said. She added that throughout the United States, accidental poisonings from household products cause more deaths among small children than anything else except automobile mishaps and fires. Petroleum distillates are particularly deadly because of the way they work in the body, she explained. After being swallowed into the stomach, they are coughed or vomited up into the lungs where they destroy the delicate tissues capable of transferring oxygen from breathed air to the circulatory system. The distillates then can cause bloody secretions, swelling and disruption of the vital oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. Death results from drowning or heart failure. "It’s a real horror story," Dr. Osterhout said. "And there’s no way we can remove the stuff once it gets into the lungs.” She said she is making her "embargo” plea because many people don’t realize the danger and still more, including some doctors, don’t know how best to handle petroleum distillate poisonings. For first aid, the physician said the most important thing to remember is .NOT to induce vomiting which would likely cause the chemicals to get in the lungs. A substance such as kerosene is almost harmless while it remains in the stomach. Likewise, she said, don’t give the child anything else to drink such as milk or water. Or anything to eat because vomiting may result from it. Do take the child to a hospital emergency room or to a physician immediately, even if you think he or she might be all right. Petroleum distillate poisoning isn’t as painful as one might expect, and a delay could be fatal. During the holiday season, • Dr. Osterhout said the Poison Control Center received numerous calls from newspaper and television reporters who wanted to find out about the dangers of traditional Christmas plants such as poinsettias. She said she found their interest ironic since to the best of her knowledge, there hasn’t been a death in the United States from eating poinsettias since 1939. (Continued on pttge 2)
InterCom (Durham, N.C.)
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Jan. 23, 1976, edition 1
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