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Suggest Remedy For Upper Abdominal Pain After Swallowing Sodium Hydroxide
i recently swalled some sodium hydroxide at work and i have had camera down my throat and was told its very red but shoukd be ok in couple weeks but still have bad upper abfomen pain and acid taste at back of my throat will i get stomach ulcers due to yhis?
Mon, 21 Sep 2015
Hi there and thank you for sharing your question with HCM.
Ingestion of sodium hydroxide is dangerous - it can cause rapid, corrosive injury to the mouth, tongue, esophagus and stomach and can cause perforation, narrowing and bleeding of the gastro-intestinal tract. Sadly, there is no antidote for sodium hydroxide.
The nasty symptoms you are experiencing (abdominal pain and acid taste) does not necessarily correlate to the severity of your injury. There may be no injury at all or there may be more severe injury that has not fully developed yet - only time will tell.
There is, unfortunately, a possibility that you may develop stomach or even esophageal ulcers. Therefore it is important that you are followed up in 2 to 3 weeks with either a second scope or a barium swallow. Studies have revealed that even in low-grade injuries following caustic ingestion, there can be delayed complications. There is no single protocol to dictate treatment, the treatment varies on a case-to-case basis.
Do discuss your symptoms carefully with your attending doctor and be sure to attend all follow up visits to ensure a proper recovery.
Take care and thanks
Dr Shabnam
Ingestion of sodium hydroxide is dangerous - it can cause rapid, corrosive injury to the mouth, tongue, esophagus and stomach and can cause perforation, narrowing and bleeding of the gastro-intestinal tract. Sadly, there is no antidote for sodium hydroxide.
The nasty symptoms you are experiencing (abdominal pain and acid taste) does not necessarily correlate to the severity of your injury. There may be no injury at all or there may be more severe injury that has not fully developed yet - only time will tell.
There is, unfortunately, a possibility that you may develop stomach or even esophageal ulcers. Therefore it is important that you are followed up in 2 to 3 weeks with either a second scope or a barium swallow. Studies have revealed that even in low-grade injuries following caustic ingestion, there can be delayed complications. There is no single protocol to dictate treatment, the treatment varies on a case-to-case basis.
Do discuss your symptoms carefully with your attending doctor and be sure to attend all follow up visits to ensure a proper recovery.
Take care and thanks
Dr Shabnam
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