Pawpaw poisoned himself last night. After a full day of moving tractors and mowing grass, Pawpaw went home and decided to clean toilets. I went to the Dollar store and got some supplies. I went into the bathroom and poured the cleaner into the bowl and watched interestedly as it foamed up. I got the brush and learned over the toilet and caught a huge lungful of what smells like chlorine gas. Suddenly, I could't breathe. Couldn't get a lungful of air. Coughing like crazy I went into the kitchen and tried to assure Milady that I would be okay.
I wasn't very convincing because I was scared, couldn't breathe and couldn't stop coughing. She prescribed fresh air and I went outside to find a breeze. After an hour or so, I took a shower and laid in the bed. Couldn't get comfortable and came to the living room to sit in an easy chair. Continued coughing, continued being scared, and weak as a kitten. Milady and I discussed the situation. She is a Registered Nurse. She said that I wasn't cyanotic, that my color was good. She said she would monitor me through the night and if anything changed she would get me headed toward an emergency room, but she didn't believe it merited a trip just yet.
I spent the night in that easy chair. She let me sleep there because I was comfortable and breathing. Milady says that breathing is a good thing. She said that she was concerned when I turned down supper. That's a good clinical call. When I turn down food, I'm sick. But, my pulse was good. I was breathing. There was probably nothing the hospital could have done. I was in better shape than most of the folks in the hospital and all the folks at the cemetary.
This morning, my chest is mildly sore, probably from all the coughing. I'm weak as a kitten. I've got a lot of work to do today. The tractor needs a new battery. I have to get those forms away from the slab. I still need to clean those toilets. I can still taste chlorine when I cough, but thankfully the coughing has subsided from constant to occasional.
9 comments:
Been there, done that, got a t-shirt.
Cleaning supplies are a nasty item if you aren't carefully. Reminded me of the Gas Chamber back at McClellan
ammonia based cleaners plus bleach equals chlorine gas. bad stuff. I got a dose of chlorine once super chlorinating some water tanks on a ship and it took me several weeks to get over it, hope yours comes along faster. as your m'lady knows I am sure you got inflammation in your lungs now and could be at risk for something else developing, take care.
Take care of yourself, man!
I think the damn tractor and forms can wait a couple of days. If you get pneumonia they'll be waiting for a couple of weeks, maybe more, maybe forever. . . .
this might go back to what ben said but sometimes when we go to take a leak we forget that we have left bleach in the toilet - this makes a pretty toxic fume too. hope you're better today.
The choking was from your alveoli trying to process the chlorine as if it was oxygen. Since the little oxygen-exchange sacs in the lungs can't do chlorine, they are temporarily stymied from processing any O2.
Milady may be a nurse, but in cases of toxic inhalation like this there is NO SUBSTITUTE for oxygen, pure oxygen, given initially at 12 l/min by rebreather mask, and after 15 minutes or so of lung purging, several hours at 4-6 l/min by nasal cannula.
I'm suprised she didn't know that. You might also have whistled up a Parish patrol unit, they are probably carrying O2 kits in the vehicle by now, or SHOULD BE.
In my EMT training (my Sheriff decided to pay for the Patrol Deputies to take Basic EMT), we were taught that about the only patient that doesn't benefit from IMMEDIATE administration of O2 is one who is on fire.
BTW, you don't need any sort of EMT rating to buy an O2 kit. They'll set you back about $200-250, but offer so much improvement of the survival prospects in almost any type of physical collapse that it's foolish NOT to have one.
Try Gall's equipment, but maybe you can pull strings and get one through your Fire Dept. If you DID see the doc about this poisoning, you could talk the pillpusher into giving you a R/X for a kit, and then your HMO might pay as much as 80% of it under the Durable Medical Goods coverage.
Twice I've had to euthanize injured animals.
I used Drano crystals and chlorine bleach in an enclosed pet carrier. Took less than 30 seconds...count yourself lucky.
Flintlock Tom
The thing they could have done at the hospital was to load you up with O2.
It's not a bad idea to keep a small O2 bottle with mask around and would come in handy in many emergency situations - inhalation poisoning being one of them.
Might be something to discuss with your wife. I'm glad you're alright.
This is not funny but I had to chuckle and tease her about it anyway, friend had a problem with her septic system and poured liberal amounts of concentrated sulphuric acid in to eat some of the blockage. I guess she did not flush it well cause when she had to go pee she had an immediate burning in a pretty sensitive area that had her in a bad way for days. There are lots of household stuff around that's pretty dangerous,
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