MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Deodorants

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Deodorants

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 due to ingestion of a deodorant.

Poisonous Ingredient

Ethyl alcohol
Aluminum salts

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Where Found

Various deodorants

Symptoms

Body as a whole
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 exposure or allergic reaction, seek medical care immediately. Give the patient milk or water to dilute the aluminum salts, unless instructed otherwise by a health care provider or the patient is unable to swallow due to convulsions or unconsciousness.

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

They will instruct you if it is necessary to take the patient to the hospital. 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)

Due to the dilute concentrations of aluminum salts and ethanol, severe toxicity is unlikely. Survival over 24 hours usually indicates recovery will follow. However, death may occur as late as a week after ingestion (if enough of the product was consumed).

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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