Utah Woman Charged For Poisoning Husband With Eye Drop Solution
A Utah-based woman was charged for poisoning her husband with eye drop solution. After staying home from work to determine the source behind his sudden illness, the woman's husband discovered he had been poisoned by his wife, according to Utah NBC-affiliate KSL 5.
Chandra Vayu Stevens Read, 33, was charged in early August with a Class A misdemeanor in the 2nd District Court. According to court documents obtained by KSL 5, Read's husband "had been ill for several months."
Dallen Tubbs, Read's husband, had experienced a variety of symptoms from the poisoned drinks. Tubbs' symptoms included nausea, headaches, diarrhea and blurred vision. He also dropped 40 pounds.
Tubbs was also concerned for his children's safety after Read informed him he wasn't her only target, according to court documents. He believed "the children had a dramatic change in behavior over a short period of time." Tubbs also added that his children were "more irritable and less consolable."
Investigators reportedly found 11 empty boxes and 10 empty bottles of eye drop solution. Six unopened boxes were also discovered.
Read's first court appearance is slated for October 30.
Read isn't the first person to use eye drop solution to poison someone. A Pennsylvania woman admitted in 2012 to poisoning her boyfriend with Visine drops for more than three years, according to ABC News. The Daily Mail reported in 2013 that a Wyoming woman was charged with poisoning her stepmother with more than five bottles per drink. The woman allegedly wanted her stepmother dead as punishment for revealing a dark secret.
The Food & Drug Administration issued a warning to parents in March about eye drop solution consumption by children. The active ingredients tetrahydrozoline, oxymetazoline or naphazoline are imidazoline derivatives, and they pose serious health repercussions upon consumption.
"In the hands of young children who are apt to swallow them, they can cause serious health consequences," FDA pharmacist Yelena Maslov said in a press release. "Children who swallow even minuscule amounts of these products can have serious adverse effects."
Symptoms of eye drop poisoning include nausea, vomiting, lethargy (sleepiness) and tachycardia (fast heart beat). Eye drop poisoning symptoms can appear and resolve fairly quickly, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPS).
"Generally, symptoms can occur in as little as one hour, peaking at eight hours, and resolving after 12-36 hours," a CPSC document on imidazoline noted. "Even though the symptoms resolve in a relatively short amount of time, ingestion of imidazolines can result in severe life-threatening consequences, such as decreased breathing, decreased heart rate, and loss of consciousness that require hospitalization to ensure recovery."
A representative from the 2nd District Court did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.
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