On the last episode of Idiopathic, we learned about the case of Gloria Ramirez– a 31 year old mother with cancer who was brought into the Riverside General Hospital in February of 1994. Unfortunately, Gloria would not make it through the night. Her visit to the hospital that night would not be so quickly forgotten.
As the medical team worked on Gloria, they started noticing some strange things. Gloria had an oily sheen about her and a garlicky-fruity odor emanated from her mouth. Furthermore, when given an IV and blood draw, folks started noticing a strange ammonia-like smell. Not long after, those working closest to Gloria weren’t feeling so well and some even began to lose consciousness. Some even required hospitalization.
All in all, 23 out of 37 ER staff experienced some symptoms after Gloria’s visit. Even though investigation was carried out by the coroner, toxicologists, hazmat, the hospital, and even an independent laboratory– no real conclusive evidence was found. The department of health and human services deemed it a case of mass psychogenic illness, but others weren’t so quickly convinced that this was all in their heads. So what else might have been going on here? Hopefully we’ll find out on todays episode of Idiopathic!

Co-Host Info:

Dr. Sarah Kashdan is a registered naturopathic doctor and licensed acupuncturist in Fort Collins Colorado. Dr. Kashdan practices a whole-body multisystem approach to healthcare using several modalities such as diet, lifestyle, nutrition, and herbal medicine. Dr. Kashdan also has degrees in environmental health and toxicology and is a certified mold-literate provider. Dr. Kashdan can be found at Rocky Mountain Natural Medicine. Her instagram is @coloradonaturedoc
Clinic website: ⁠⁠https://www.fortcollins-naturalmedicine.com

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