MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Ammonium hydroxide

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Ammonium hydroxide

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 exposure to ammonium hydroxide. It is found in many industrial solvents and cleaners.

Poisonous Ingredient

Ammonium hydroxide (can also release ammonia gas into the air)

Where Found

Ammonium hydroxide can be found in many industrial solvents and cleaners -- hundreds to thousands of construction agents, flooring strippers, brick cleaners, cements, and many others.
Ammonia alone (not ammonium hydroxide) can be found in many household cleaners. The symptoms and treatment for ammonia exposure are similar to those for ammonium hydroxide, and often the exposure is both ammonium hydroxide and ammonia released from the chemical as gas.

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

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

DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING.

If ammonium hydroxide is on the skin or in the eye, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes. If ammonium hydroxide was swallowed, give milk or water to dilute it. Fruit juices may also be given. If the person inhaled fumes, 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 (ingredients and strengths, if known)
The time it was swallowed
The amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number

Follow all instructions given to you by the poison control center. It is always necessary to seek medical attention for this type of exposure. Take the container with you to the emergency room. See poison control centers for the national toll-free poison hotline.

What to expect at the emergency room

Some or all of the following procedures may be performed:

For swallowed poison
- 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 debridment (surgical removal of burned skin)
- Admission or transfer to a hospital that specializes in burn care

Expectations (prognosis)

Survival past 48 hours usually indicates recovery will occur. If a chemical burn occurred in the eye, permanent blindness will probably result. The prognosis (probable outcome) depends on how rapidly the alkali was diluted and neutralized.

Extensive damage to the mouth, throat, eyes, lungs, esophagus, nose, and stomach are possible. The ultimate outcome depends on the extent of this damage. Damage continues to occur to the esophagus and stomach for several weeks after the alkali was swallowed, and death may occur as long as a month later.

Update Date: 1/29/2004

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.