MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Toilet bowl cleaners and deodorizers

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Toilet bowl cleaners and deodorizers

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

Poisoning from an exposure to a toilet bowl cleaner or a toilet bowl deodorizer.

Poisonous Ingredient

Phenol
Detergents
Isopropyl alcohol

Where Found

Various toilet bowl cleaners, including automatic ones

Symptoms

Respiratory
- Breathing difficulty (from inhalation)
- Throat swelling (which may also cause breathing difficulty)
Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
- Severe pain in the throat
- Severe pain or burning in the nose, eyes, ears, lips, or tongue
- Loss of vision
Gastrointestinal
- Severe abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Burns of the esophagus (food pipe)
- Vomiting blood
- Blood in the stool
Heart and blood vessels
- Hypotension (low blood pressure) develops rapidly
- Collapse
Skin
- Irritation
- Burn
- Necrosis (holes) in the skin or underlying tissues
Blood
- Severe change in pH (too much or too little acid in the blood, which leads to damage in all of the body organs)

Home Treatment

Seek emergency medical care immediately. DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING. If on the skin or in the eyes, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes. If swallowed, drink water or milk IMMEDIATELY. If the patient is vomiting, keep giving water or milk. For inhalation poisoning, remove the patient to fresh air.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight, and condition
The name of the product (as well as the ingredients and strength, 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:

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
- 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 inhaled poisons
- A breathing tube may need to be inserted
- Oxygen
- Admission to the hospital or to the intensive care unit
- Bronchoscopy (inserting a camera down the throat into the airway to evaluate the extent of burns to the airway and lungs)
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)

The prognosis (probable outcome) will be dependent on how rapidly the substance was diluted. Extensive damage to the mouth, throat, and stomach are possible. The ultimate outcome will be dependent on the extent of this damage. Serious damage may occur, and death is possible.

Update Date: 4/16/2004

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

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2002 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.