MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Lanolin overdose

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Lanolin overdose

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 an overdose of lanolin.

Poisonous Ingredient

Lanolin

Where Found

Some eye care products
Some diaper rash products
Some hemorrhoid medications
Some lotions and skin creams

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Symptoms

Gastrointestinal
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
Skin
- Rash

Home Treatment

Skin cleansers are relatively nontoxic, but larger doses may block the intestinal tract at some point. Call Poison Control for further information about treatment. If you suspect that there has been an overdose or ingestion of this substance, seek emergency medical care immediately.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight and condition
The name of 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

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
- Take a blood sample taken to determine salicylate level in blood
- Give IV fluids
- Admission to the hospital
- 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)

Since lanolin products are relatively nontoxic, recovery is very likely with proper treatment.

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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