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Suggest Remedies For Accidental Ingestion Of Kerosene In A Child

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Posted on Thu, 14 Jul 2016
Question: My son 1 yr 9month has consumed kerosene thinking as water .he was coughing .i don't know amount he consumed.according to my father he had just took sip of it.my1st reaction was to make him vomit by inserting my fingers in his mouth and wash his face and neck were kerosene was spilled.he did vomiting.and i made him drink salt water to vomit more.but this time he didn't. Then we went to child specialists in our locality.he prescribed cepodem 50 dry suspension 18mg/30ml and XXXXXXX syrup.and chest x ray and cbc.it was late so we could not do it on same day.will be doing it tomorrow.after coming back he didn't cough but vomited food and whatever was there in his stomach and it smelled like kerosene.few minutes later he again vomit but this time it was like clear water with oily base and it too smelled like kerosene.after all these he was so tired he was were sleepy and he slept for 30 minutes.after he woke up he got temp of 37.2 degree celcius.and played little.then he himself asked for formula milk(nan).after drinking he vomit but without any smell.after this i gave him cepodem 5ml.after few minutes his temp was little down.he is drinking water intermittently. Is he out of danger. I cannot wait till tomkrrow for x ray to know whether he is alright or not.
P.s: i forgot to mention before his heatbeat is fast compare to normal .this is what i feel.plz tel me .what to do.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (39 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
you need to take him to your nearest ER at the earliest....

Detailed Answer:
Hello xxxxxxxxx, Welcome to HCM..

I've gone through your query and understand your concern for your son..

It's good that he's checked by the child specialist immediately..

I appreciate all of your observations and those details but you should note that the most important thing to do if anyone has ingested toxins like kerosene is 'NEVER MADE THEM VOMIT', because these are highly volatile corrosive liquid toxins, which can easily gets aspirated in to the lungs and causes severe inflammation, otherwise known as Chemical Pneumonitis..

Had it been One sip in an adult, it'd not be so serious, but in a child of 1 yr and 9 months, it's pretty detrimental dose..

In my advice you should not waste any time any more and straight away take him to your nearest Emergency Care of any hospital which are open 24*7 to deal with particularly these kinds of emergencies..

They'll run a battery of investigations on your son and will keep him under strict monitoring as well as observations for at least another 24-48 hrs till he's out of danger..all the necessary investigations starting from Blood Gas to CBC, LFT, Chest X-ray, urine analysis will be taken care by then and there only as well as necessary treatment..

Yes, it's a danger period now and you should not remain assured by just the smell and contents of the vomitus as I've explained, due to highly volatile nature and repetitive vomiting episodes, the majority of the toxin got aspirated..

There will breathing difficulty due to this as well as fever due to all those adverse effects of the toxin in the body, 37.2 degree celcius is still not fever but chances are it'll be aggravated if not managed immediately..

DO NOT TRY TO GIVE HIM ANY THING PER MOUTH for now..

Please don't panic, and remain vigilant as time is the key here..

I've tried to make it as simple as possible for you to understand, let me know if you have any queries at all..

I wish your son the very best of health but you should not wait any more..

Let me know how he stays in the due course..

Best Of Luck
Kind Regards
Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr.Arnab

Critical Care Specialist

Practicing since :2012

Answered : 1479 Questions

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Suggest Remedies For Accidental Ingestion Of Kerosene In A Child

Brief Answer: you need to take him to your nearest ER at the earliest.... Detailed Answer: Hello xxxxxxxxx, Welcome to HCM.. I've gone through your query and understand your concern for your son.. It's good that he's checked by the child specialist immediately.. I appreciate all of your observations and those details but you should note that the most important thing to do if anyone has ingested toxins like kerosene is 'NEVER MADE THEM VOMIT', because these are highly volatile corrosive liquid toxins, which can easily gets aspirated in to the lungs and causes severe inflammation, otherwise known as Chemical Pneumonitis.. Had it been One sip in an adult, it'd not be so serious, but in a child of 1 yr and 9 months, it's pretty detrimental dose.. In my advice you should not waste any time any more and straight away take him to your nearest Emergency Care of any hospital which are open 24*7 to deal with particularly these kinds of emergencies.. They'll run a battery of investigations on your son and will keep him under strict monitoring as well as observations for at least another 24-48 hrs till he's out of danger..all the necessary investigations starting from Blood Gas to CBC, LFT, Chest X-ray, urine analysis will be taken care by then and there only as well as necessary treatment.. Yes, it's a danger period now and you should not remain assured by just the smell and contents of the vomitus as I've explained, due to highly volatile nature and repetitive vomiting episodes, the majority of the toxin got aspirated.. There will breathing difficulty due to this as well as fever due to all those adverse effects of the toxin in the body, 37.2 degree celcius is still not fever but chances are it'll be aggravated if not managed immediately.. DO NOT TRY TO GIVE HIM ANY THING PER MOUTH for now.. Please don't panic, and remain vigilant as time is the key here.. I've tried to make it as simple as possible for you to understand, let me know if you have any queries at all.. I wish your son the very best of health but you should not wait any more.. Let me know how he stays in the due course.. Best Of Luck Kind Regards