MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Incense

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Incense

Contents of this page:
Definition Poisonous Ingredient Where Found Symptoms Home Treatment	Before Calling Emergency Poison Control, or a local emergency number What to expect at the emergency room Expectations (prognosis)

Definition

This poisoning is from ingestion of liquid incense. Solid incense is considered non-toxic.

Poisonous Ingredient

Various aromatic oils

Where Found

Incense

Symptoms

Respiratory
- Difficulty breathing (from inhalation or allergic reaction)
Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
- Burning pain in the throat
- Blurred vision
- Burns to the eye
Skin
- Rash
Gastrointestinal
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea (watery, bloody)
Heart and blood vessels
- Low blood pressure
Nervous system
- Stupor
- Coma

Home Treatment

For any toxic ingestion or allergic reaction, seek emergency medical care immediately. Call the Poison Control center for guidance. DO NOT INDUCE EMESIS (VOMITING) UNLESS INSTRUCTED TO DO SO.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight, and condition
The name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
The time it was swallowed
The amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number

See Poison Control centers for telephone numbers and addresses. Take the container with you to the emergency room.

What to expect at the emergency room

Some or all of the following procedures may be performed:

Treat the allergic reaction with diphenhydramine and prednisone.
For swallowed poison:
- Placement of a tube down the nose and into the stomach (a nasogastric tube, or an NG tube) to wash out the stomach (gastric lavage).
- Activated charcoal administration.
- Endoscopy -- the placement of a camera down the throat to see the extent of burns to the esophagus and the stomach.
- Give IV fluids.
- Admission to the hospital.
- Give an antidote.
- Treat the symptoms.
For skin exposure:
- Irrigation (washing of the skin), perhaps every few hours for several days.
- Skin debridement (surgical removal of burned skin).
- Admission or transfer to a hospital that specializes in burn care.

Expectations (prognosis)

With any toxic ingestion or allergic reaction, recovery and prognosis depend on the extent of the exposure and time to treatment. Liquid incense is normally considered slightly toxic. Survival past 48 hours is usually a good sign that recovery will occur.

Update Date: 2/12/2004

Updated by: Cherlin Johnson, M.D., Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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