COMMON HOUSEHOLD POISONS Ms Achala Vithanage Research Officer

TOXIC SUBSTANCES n Any chemical / mixture that may be harmful to the environment

TOXIC SUBSTANCES n Prompt recognition & early treatment is important. n Implementation of preventive

POISONING DUE TO NON MEDICINAL AGENTS 2000 -2006 n Poisoning due to household products

POISONING DUE TO NONMEDICINAL AGENTS Year Admission Death 2000 15 641 328 2001 16

VICTIMS Usually under the age of five, majority were toddlers between the age of

Acute childhood poisoning (Sri Lankan experience – Study period June 1984 -1997) Type of

Commonly used harmful household products n n n n Cleaners: Used to remove dirt

Commonly used harmful household products n Rust removers: n Mold and rust are kind

Commonly used harmful household products n Bleaches/Disinfactants: n Used to kill germs n Depending

Commonly used harmful household products n Combination disinfectants are more toxic. n E. g.

Commonly used harmful household products n Petroleum products are hydrocarbons: n Commonly used household

Commonly used harmful household products n Paints/Polishes n Paints: Water base - mostly used

Commonly used harmful household products n Laundry detergents: Used to clean stains and loosen

Commonly used harmful household products n Prinso: n Prinso is an emerging fatal self

Commonly used harmful household products n Batteries: 1. Dry cell – Carbon + Heavy

Commonly used harmful household products Button & Disk Batteries: 4. Contains heavy metals and

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COMMON HOUSEHOLD POISONS Ms Achala Vithanage Research Officer National Poisons and Drug Information Centre

TOXIC SUBSTANCES n Any chemical / mixture that may be harmful to the environment and to human health if inhaled swallowed or absorbed through skin. n These toxic substance contained in everyday household products. n Poisoning due to household substances is usually mild.

TOXIC SUBSTANCES n Prompt recognition & early treatment is important. n Implementation of preventive measures is essential. n Drugs and household cleaners are the most reported cases of poisoning. n Easy availability of household product makes them one of the leading causes of poisoning.

POISONING DUE TO NON MEDICINAL AGENTS 2000 -2006 n Poisoning due to household products is a common hospital admission. Annually there about 15, 000 -19, 000 admissions and more than 270 deaths in state hospitals.

POISONING DUE TO NONMEDICINAL AGENTS Year Admission Death 2000 15 641 328 2001 16 751 342 2002 16 708 281 2003 18 108 234 2004 16 978 226 2005 17 456 230 2006 18 878 316

VICTIMS Usually under the age of five, majority were toddlers between the age of 1 -3 years. n These incidence are preventable emergencies. n n NPIC (Sri Lanka) 20 years experience: Age distribution showed that 20% of enquiries were for children less than 5 years. n Utilization of the services of NPIC shows that accidental poisoning in children is a major concern. n

Acute childhood poisoning (Sri Lankan experience – Study period June 1984 -1997) Type of poison No Household product 1026 Drugs 612 Poisonous plants 160 Agrochemicals 127 Miscellaneous 75 Total 1442

Commonly used harmful household products n n n n Cleaners: Used to remove dirt mostly contains fragrance, surfactants & pesticides. Surfactants remove dirt & pesticides kill germ like bacteria and viruses. Glass cleaners – Ammonia, Isopropanol Dish washers – Cationic, anionic or nonionic detergents Oven cleaners – Lye (Na/K hydroxide) All purpose cleaners – Ethylene glycol, Na hyperchlorite

Commonly used harmful household products n Rust removers: n Mold and rust are kind of funguses. n Pesticide chemicals found in these products are chlorine, alkyl ammonium chloride. n Very caustic and corrosive.

Commonly used harmful household products n Bleaches/Disinfactants: n Used to kill germs n Depending on the specific product usually do not cause serious harm if a small amount is swallowed. n Average amount may cause serious poisoning and even death. n Germicide chemical-acids, alkalis, pine oil, phenol, chlorophenol etc.

Commonly used harmful household products n Combination disinfectants are more toxic. n E. g. : Pine oil + Phenol

Commonly used harmful household products n Petroleum products are hydrocarbons: n Commonly used household hydrocarbons are: kerosene, petrol, thinner – fatal poisoning is rare always cause lung damage. Turpentine – Pines and camphines Break fluid, car coolant, antifreezer ethylene glycol, highly toxic – damage to heart, kidney & brain cause death.

Commonly used harmful household products n Paints/Polishes n Paints: Water base - mostly used for indoors. Main solvent is water Oil base – mineral spirit and other petroleum distillate. Used for out doors. q Polishes: Furniture polishes & metal cleaners – petroleum distillate.

Commonly used harmful household products n Laundry detergents: Used to clean stains and loosen dirt from the household laundry. n These are responsible for many household poisoning by intentional and accidental swallowing. n Contains cleaning agents with cationic, anionic or nonionic detergents. E. g. Prinso

Commonly used harmful household products n Prinso: n Prinso is an emerging fatal self poisoning in Sri Lanka (E. g. Southern Sri Lanka) n 1. 2 g KMNO 4 + 12. 5 g Oxalic Acid

Commonly used harmful household products n Batteries: 1. Dry cell – Carbon + Heavy metal 2. Wet cell – used for vehicles, lead and battery acid(H 2 SO 4) 3. Button/Disk battery single cell batteries used as an energy source for digital watches, calculators, cameras etc.

Commonly used harmful household products Button & Disk Batteries: 4. Contains heavy metals and potassium oxide solution. 5. If swallowed – majority no symptoms passed intact with faeces. 6. If impacted in oesophagus – fever, dysphasia, vomiting and anorexia. 7. Tissue damage cause by flow of electric current, potentially fatal.

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