Officials offer tips to avoid poison dangers at home
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Five-year-old Alexander Rodrigo nearly lost his life after eating a cupcake.
"My stomach was hurting and it felt like there was a plant in there," Alexander said.
Shortly after St. Patrick's Day of last year, Alexander and his sister ate cupcakes with what appeared to be green edible sprinkles. They were, in fact, water gel crystals, which expanded in the kids' intestines.
"They had to hydrate them with an IV. It was nothing fun for them. Constant enemas actually to try and flush it out of their system," said Darlene Rodrigo, Alexander's mom.
On Wednesday, Alexander and his mom came to Children's Hospital Los Angeles to deliver an important message: safeguard your home against the dangers of poison.
Dr. Cyrus Rangan says it's difficult for kids to tell the difference between food and dangerous products. For example, your medicine cabinet is a place where potential dangers exist. Rangan says candy and some medications look a lot alike.
"You would never like a situation to occur down the line when a child gets a bottle of medication, takes it out, thinks it's candy and goes ahead and eats it," Rangan said.
The overdose from a prescription medication could be fatal to a small child.
