What Should I Do If I Accidentally Swallow Strong Acid?

Update Date: 2024-06-06 Source: Network

Ingestion of strong acid drugs can lead to poisoning, and generally vomiting and gastric lavage are contraindicated to prevent severe tissue damage and gastrointestinal perforation. Neutralizers and mucosal protectants can be administered. In cases of strong acid poisoning, immediately use diluted soap water, raw egg white, milk juice, aluminum hydroxide gel, etc., and then give vegetable oil to protect the digestive tract mucosa. Antibiotics can be used to prevent wound infections.

Strong acids (including sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc.) have strong stimulating and corrosive effects on human skin and tissues. Once ingested or contacted with strong acid drugs, it can rapidly cause severe lesions such as swelling, bleeding, erosion, and perforation of the mucosa or skin of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach, accompanied by severe pain. These lesions are often accompanied by dysfunction or systemic symptoms of these organs. For example, laryngeal edema can cause asphyxia. In severe cases, it can lead to shock or even death.

When there are strong acids or strong alkalis in the home, they should be stored properly, and precautions should be indicated on the outer packaging. Some household items, such as cleansers, polishes, hair perms, etc., often contain these substances as well. Therefore, extra care should be taken when using them, and they should not be applied to the skin, nor mixed into food.

Patients who accidentally ingest strong acids through the mouth will immediately experience severe burning pain in the mouth, throat, ribs, and abdomen, accompanied by skin and mucosal burns, necrosis, or ulcers. They may also experience nausea, vomiting, or vomiting of brown or bloody decayed mucosa. Other symptoms include diarrhea, thirst, difficulty swallowing, laryngeal edema or spasms, and even asphyxia. Oral poisoning can also cause severe burns to the digestive tract, causing severe pain, oliguria, anuria, digestive tract perforation, acidosis, and damage to liver and kidney function.

For patients with contact poisoning, the damage sustained by each contact site is different. After the eyes are stimulated and corroded by strong acids, corneal opacity, perforation, vision loss, and even blindness may occur. Different types of acid corrosives can produce differently colored scabs on the oral mucosa, such as yellow scabs for nitric acid and gray scabs for hydrochloric acid. Inhalation of acid mist can cause coughing, foamy or bloody sputum, laryngeal edema, spasms, bronchial spasms, difficulty breathing, cyanosis, asphyxia, pneumonia, and pulmonary edema. Inhalation of high concentrations of strong acid fumes can lead to "electric shock-like" death due to reflexively inhibited respiratory centers.

For patients with skin contact, there may be manifestations of third-degree burn-like lesions, local coagulation necrosis, ulcers, or scabs.