He ate the diaper cream 🥹

ButterflyWings

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/69069/sos-is-zinc-oxide-20-cream-edible

SusanB-dil

i found this:

Zinc oxide is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter diaper rash creams, including Desitin. It is also found in some types of baby powder and sunscreen. The label can tell you if it has oxide in it.

Zinc oxide is not very harmful if a person eats a small amount, but it can be harmful to dogs and cats.

Guess it depends on how much he ingested.

How is he doing, now? I also saw it can cause some stomach upset, but that it should go away…

How are you doing, now? That would be quite a scare

ButterflyWings

@SusanB-dil thank you. I am feeling awful about letting this happen. Geez. Did not expect him to distract himself during a drive and this outcome never crossed my mind. I watch him like a hawk at home and almost nothing toxic is still in the house after safety-proofing in early stages. Your info is consistent with what poison control said, and what’s happening here right now.

Here is the update I posted to the original thread a short while ago:

Thanks @harshedbuzz and everyone. I gave him some ginger ale, lots of water and some simple veggie purée for dinner and he couldn’t keep it down. 

Grossness alert again: 

I’m one who is not squeamish (motherhood cured me of that) but can’t help gagging when someone upchucks. So we were pitiful but laughable yesterday. Him trying to hold it in, me saying no that’s good! Spit it out! And then me dry heaving, lol. Grabbing Chux & wipes & plastic grocery bags to keep disposing of everything… 

One poignant moment- I was apologizing for manhandling him & raising my voice as I tried to clean out his mouth earlier & told him I don’t ever want him to feel sick— said (gently, kind of laughing & rhetorically) “why would you eat something like that?” His unexpected response really got me. He said softly, “I can’t remember things”. OMG. I swear I felt an arrow pierce my heart. I told him me either & that we are a good team so we’ll keep taking care of each other.

He stood (pretty much patiently) while I used dozens of wipes & the hospice hygiene products to get him clean. A shower would be faster but that’s been a no go for years. 

The laundry is voluminous & I just posted on the “green/recycling” thread about the trash we are generating right now. Oh well.

Still gross:

Somewhere in the middle of the night he said his stomach hurt, I said I know & rubbed his face gently which he likes & fell back asleep. Then we awoke to a mediciny smell & it was coming out the other way. Chux saved the day! The entire couch pillow would have been soaked. And the pull up + extra pad was full of both solids and diarrhea. If we hadn’t already suspended procedures like colonoscopies I can say he is totally cleaned out & ready!

I just gave him puréed saltine cracker and will try a mashed banana next. Hoping the worst is over. Poor guy. The aide & I just need to keep everything on lockdown. This is the most risky part of stage 7 and while he has the renewed mobility, stamina and awareness he is a real risk to himself. It only takes a second.

harshedbuzz

@ButterflyWings

I hope everyone's stomachs are settled today.

I was reminded of these and wondered if these might be a safe option to distract your DH's hyperoral behavior. A lot of kids on spectrum with sensory issues find joint compression calming with a jaw being a big powerful joint, these are made to withstand a lot. I hope you don't take offense.

https://theabilitytoolbox.com/chewelry-sensory-chew-jewelry-autism-adhd/

HB

ButterflyWings

@harshedbuzz Thank you for this. No offense taken. I appreciate all the ways we try to help each other on these boards, understanding that if something works it is worth it! And if it does not, then it may work for someone else.

I will take a look at the details on this - who knew there was even such a product! (Or a need). But boy this hyperoral thing is real, and so seriously dangerous. DH's nurse thinks the best strategy is to avoid triggering his "chew" reflex if at all possible, hence the pureed foods. I do believe she is right but easier said, than done.

Interestingly, he had been eating a wrap just before this experience, (it was not what I'd planned and actually not as depicted it when I ordered it at the Hardee's breakfast drive thru —false advertising for their sausage-egg-biscuit & gravy menu option, as the little cup of gravy depicted in the ad, did not exist. I was going to mash things up in the gravy and have the consistency needed to prevent him having to bite off pieces and then chew them. But no cup of gravy and when I inquired, I was told it didn't really come like that. Since the wrap was soft and I didn't want to leave him hungry , I went ahead and let him eat it. Then less than an hour later, realized he was doing a new thing and it was not good.

Well, all better now. Stomach has been fine for 24 hours, so the pureed saltine mush, mashed bananas, oatmeal and lots of clear fluids throughout the day yesterday did the trick. I've learned my lesson to return to the hypervigilance of Stage 5, when I looked at everything through a lens of do we really need this in the house and where can I hide it that he can never get into it. Even meds are in a lockbox. This was just a wake-up call. Grateful that it was not toxic and that I caught him before he ate even more, as he did not seem like he planned to stop spooning it up any time soon! (Yuck lolol)