Ipecac (Noun)
Meaning
A medicinal drug used to evoke vomiting (especially in cases of drug overdose or poisoning).
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- The poison control hotline advised the frantic parent to administer ipecac to her child who had accidentally ingested a bottle of cleaning solution.
- Historically, ipecac was used to treat cases of mercury poisoning, but its use has largely been discontinued in favor of more effective treatments.
- The paramedics gave the overdosed teenager a dose of ipecac to induce vomiting and help clear his system of the lethal substance.
- In the 1960s, the syrup of ipecac was widely available over the counter and often kept in medicine cabinets for emergency use in cases of poisoning.
- Due to its potential for abuse, the FDA has largely phased out the use of ipecac as a medicinal agent and recommends activated charcoal instead to treat cases of poisoning.