MILWAUKEE -- There's a new and dangerous way that teenagers are getting high. Two Milwaukee mothers said "skittling" almost took the lives of their daughters.

"It was just shocking," Shelby said.

"It's just not that we didn't know, it's so many people that don't know," Terri said.

These mothers got a crash course in "skittling" when their teenage daughters wound up in the Children's Hospital emergency room.

"We nearly lost our daughters, and it was very scary," Shelby said.

Kids call it "skittling" because Coricidin HBP, a popular over-the-counter cold medication, looks like candy.

"They were literally just tearing at the package with their teeth trying to get the last one open. They couldn't get it open. That's what saved them," Terri said.

"I don't know if there's permanent damage to my daughter's liver. I don't know that," Shelby said.

They take many times the recommended dose, and sometimes, they chase it with alcohol.

Mollie, 16, and Ashley, 15, admit they've tried it more than once. But the last time as the worst.

"The only reason I took it to begin with was I thought it would be fun," Ashley said.

In large doses, the active ingredient in Coricidin, the cough suppressant dextromethorphan, can cause hallucinations.

"I remember seeing a lot of things, like the whole room just started spinning, into different colors and the whole thing just swirled together," Mollie said.

"And it was really scary," Mollie said.

At $8 a box, it's a cheap, easy way to get high, and a lot of kids know about it. It's not illegal to possess, either.

"You don't have to worry about smelling like anything, or your eyes getting all dilated or whatever. You can just be in class, and be all high off of Skittles or whatever," a teenager said.

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Doctors at Children's Hospital know all about "skittling," too. They see it on a daily basis.

"At least three to five times a day, we get calls from parents or from schools, where one, two or more kids are taking these over-the-counter tablets in an attempt to get high," said Dr. Ernie Stremski, of the Poison Control Center.

The Internet has plenty of information on how to "skittle." Experts say it's one of the main ways kids learn about this.

But these drug abuse Web sites have less information on the serious consequences of "skittling."

"You run a risk of coma. You run a risk of (stopping) breathing. You definitely run a risk of experiencing a seizure," Stremski said.

So why don't the kids stop?

"It's not like we do it purposely. This drug is addictive," Ashley said. "If you take it once, you just have the urge to take it again. You can't help it."

Managers of many Walgreen's stores know kids are abusing Coricidin HPB. That's why they've pulled it off the shelves, and sell it at the pharmacy. But other chains have not.

"I want it off the shelves. I want it where it's controlled," Shelby said.

"It wouldn't hurt to occasionally just make sure it's not lying in your sons' or daughters' rooms, and just assume they're taking it for a cold, because that might not be the case," Terri said.

The girls say they've learned a lesson, too. They say they'll walk away if it's ever offered to them.

"And I'd be like, No, I almost died from that,'" Mollie said.

Schering-Plough, the drug company that makes Coricidin, supports pharmacies' efforts to restrict the sale to young people.

These are the signs of "skittling":

• Boxes of cold medication in rooms, purses or backpacks
• Medication missing from your home
• Any illness, unusual change in behavior, or appearance

The mothers said their daughters lost balance and their eyes looked like pennies the night they almost died.

The experts at the Poison control Center say kids already know about this. It's the parents that need to learn.

Additional Resources:

• Report: Abuse Of Coricidin HBP
• Coricidin HBP In The News
• Coricidin.org