Brothers improving after ingesting toxin

The health of two children has improved since they were taken to hospital Friday evening after drinking an unidentified poisonous liquid.

Emergency Medical Services were called to the 3000 block of 56th Street N.E., where they found two boys in medical distress after having swallowed a toxic substance.

Acting Det. Martin Taylor with Calgary police said one of the children was unconscious and not breathing when paramedics arrived on the scene. The child regained consciousness shortly after.

The father of the children told paramedics his sons had ingested a household chemical kept in an unlabelled water bottle. EMS spokesperson Adam Loria said they haven’t been able to identify what type of chemical was in the bottle because it didn’t have a label, but concluded it was noxious due to the odour and medical symptoms of the children.

At the time of the incident, one of the children was rushed to the Peter Lougheed Centre in serious condition. EMS have since upgraded his condition to non-life-threatening. His brother was transported to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition.

As a warning to other parents, Loria said any medications, household chemicals and toxic substances should be properly labelled and kept away from the living environment of children. If potentially harmful substances are being stored in a residence with young children, they should be kept safely locked away.