"Why Was a Boy Burned After Mistakenly Ingesting Lye and Being Given Water by His Parents?"

Cleaning the oil smoke extractor at home, Doudou (pseudonym), a 1-year-and-5-month-old child, picked up the caustic soda on the table and swallowed it, causing him to suddenly cry. Even more concerning, when the parents saw that Doudou's mouth was black and panicked, they grabbed a glass of tap water to rinse his mouth, only to make the situation worse, burning his mouth and other body parts. On March 22, Doudou, with a nasal tube inserted, dozed off in the ward of the Children's Hospital of Henan Province. "The condition of the child's digestive tract and esophagus will be known only after a week through a gastroscopy," said Doudou's attending physician.

Cleaning the Oil Smoke Extractor at Home Led to the Boy Swallowing Caustic Soda

March 16 was a Friday. After returning home from work, Mr. Liu intended to clean the oil smoke extractor in their home. He took out the sodium hydroxide flakes he had bought earlier to clean the extractor. Sodium hydroxide, commonly known as caustic soda, is used by many families to clean grease. While Mr. Liu was working, he suddenly heard his son crying while playing nearby. His family quickly had Doudou open his mouth and found that it was black. No one knew when Doudou had swallowed the caustic soda. Everyone panicked, and Mr. Liu hastily grabbed a glass of tap water to rinse Doudou's mouth, inadvertently worsening the situation.

As a highly corrosive strong base, sodium hydroxide easily dissolves in water, releasing a significant amount of heat and forming an alkaline solution. This undoubtedly exacerbated the damage to the child's delicate oral and digestive tract mucosa. Furthermore, because the parents had him drink a lot of water, the solution overflowed, burning his lips and chin. In an emergency, Doudou was first rushed to a local hospital for rescue and then transferred to the PICU of the Children's Hospital of Henan Province for treatment at 10:10 pm on March 18.

Dr. Liu Lingzhi, Doudou's attending physician, explained that upon admission, the child had severe oral and throat ulcers, respiratory difficulties, and a poor mental state, requiring tracheal intubation and ventilation. However, due to the severity of the oral ulcers, oral intubation was not feasible, and nasal intubation was used for ventilation instead. When the reporter saw Doudou yesterday afternoon, he was lying in bed in the ICU. "There is still edema in his throat, and he is in a poor mental state and under a fasting regimen," said Dr. Cui Lidan, the attending physician of the hospital's PICU.

"What about the child's digestive tract and esophagus?" "The best time for gastroscopy is within 24 hours after the accident; otherwise, it will have to wait for 2 weeks," said Dr. Cui. "By then, it will be clearer whether the child's esophagus is narrow, locked, or if there are perforations in the digestive tract."

Precautions and Tips

In addition, Dr. Cui Lidan specifically reminded that many parents, due to a lack of common sense, engage in improper treatments when accidents occur, leading to more severe situations. In fact, different types of poisons require different handling methods. For example, when a child accidentally ingests strong acids or bases, parents should give the child plenty of milk or egg whites, which can react with the acids or bases to neutralize them. When a child accidentally ingests drugs with severe side effects, such as antihypertensive or sedative medications, parents should promptly induce vomiting by stimulating the child's throat and vomiting out the medication, then quickly take the child to the hospital. Vomiting should not be induced if the child is convulsing or unconscious to avoid asphyxiation.

What to Do if a Child Accidentally Ingests Caustic Soda?

1. Do Not Use Water: Caustic soda is a strong base. If it comes into contact with water, it will quickly release a large amount of heat, worsening the situation. The little boy, unaware of this, directly rinsed the caustic soda with water, causing it to spread throughout his body and resulting in large-area burns.
2. Do Not Induce Vomiting: Many people believe that inducing vomiting can expel harmful substances, but this method is incorrect for strong corrosives like caustic soda. Doing so can cause secondary damage to the stomach and digestive tract.