| Definition: |
This poisoning is from nail polish.
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| Poisonous Ingredient: |
- Toluene
- Butyl acetate
- Ethyl acetate
- Dibutyl phthalate
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| Where Found: |
- Various fingernail polishes
Note: This list may not be all inclusive.
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| Symptoms: |
- Body as a whole
- Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
- Respiratory
- Gastrointestinal
- Nervous system
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| Home Treatment: |
Do not induce vomiting. Seek emergency medical care immediately.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| What to expect at the emergency room: |
Some, or all of the following procedures may be performed:
- 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
- For allergic reactions
- Use of diphenhydramine
- Use of prednisone
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| Expectations (prognosis): |
With any toxic exposure, ingestion, or allergic reaction, recovery and prognosis depend on the amount of ingestion and the time to treatment. Nail polish tends to come in small bottles, so serious toxicity is unlikely from exposure to one bottle. However, for any ingestion or illness from exposure, seek emergency medical care immediately.
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