Zinc oxide overdose

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Zinc oxide overdose

Definition:

This is poisoning from an overdose of zinc oxide.

Alternative Names:

Desitin; Calamine lotion; Zinaderm

Poisonous Ingredient:

zinc oxide

Where Found:

zinc oxide ointment
some diaper rash medications
some hemorrhoid preparations
in some skin lotions
calamine lotion
Caladryl lotion

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Symptoms:

body as a whole
- chills
eyes, ears, nose, and throat
- yellow eyes
skin
- yellow skin
gastrointestinal
- abdominal pain
- nausea and/or vomiting
- diarrhea

Home Treatment:

Zinc oxide is considered fairly nontoxic. If swallowed in large doses call Poison Control.

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:

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:

Induce vomiting.
Use gastric lavage.
Treat the symptoms.

Expectations (prognosis):

Because of the basic nontoxic nature of zinc oxide, recovery is very likely.

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