Welcome to the Blog Mums and visitors.
Today’s discussion is about the most common cause of accidental poisoning among children in the developing countries like Nigeria.
I will start by defining the two KEYWORDS: KEROSENE and POISONING
Kerosene – we all know now very well is an hydrocarbon fuel…also called paraffin in some places. It is commonly used in the cooking stoves but it is also used as a jet fuel in aeroplanes.
Due to the fact that it is commonly used at homes for cooking, it is a very common and easily accessible commodity even to children.
Poisoning- is a poison exposure that results in bodily harm. A poison exposure is the ingestion of or contact with a substance that can produce toxic or harmful effects.
When children accidentally drink the kerosene; leading to bodily harm – that is Kerosene poisoning.
Why talk about Kerosene Poisoning?
Kerosene poisoning is the commonest cause of poisoning in children in our environment. In one year in a Teaching Hospital, we saw 17 cases of children with all forms of accidental poisoning and 13 out of the 17 were all due to Kerosene Poisoning.
Why is Kerosene Poisoning so common among children?
This problem usually seems to arise from kerosene being kept in an unlabelled common containers of other common drinks (e.g. Eva bottle, coca cola bottle) and within reach of the children.
Many of us are familiar with kerosene being sold like other fuel in clear water bottles. Remember, Kerosene looks exactly like water and for the children when you keep it in such bottles they actually think it is water.
Children are also very curious so they explore and if such bottles are just kept carelessly in the kitchen and the children can go into the place unrestricted they will likely drink……same apply to keeping it in coke or fanta or sprite and co bottle.
What happens after a child accidentally drinks Kerosene?
Kerosene is poorly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract but there is often aspiration into the respiratory tract especially if the child vomits. This causes pneumonitis which may be so severe as to cause pulmonary oedema and hypoxaemia.
Though most cases are mild; some can be severe enough to require admission to intensive care unit! Kerosene can cause that to children if they get poisoned by it. Such features usually occur within hours but may be seen a day or so after ingestion when the child becomes breathless and feverish up to 40ºC.
Apart from Pneumonitis- like pneumonia we are familiar with, kerosene poisoning can affect other organs in the body. In the heart it can cause irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia) which may affect blood supply to body organs.
Its effects on the gastrointestinal tract include direct irritation to the pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, and small intestine, with oedema and mucosal ulceration, and it may be associated with nausea and vomiting of blood. These effects are usually mild and rarely require treatment.
On the brain, it can cause somnolence (excessive sleeping), headache, ataxia (staggering movement), dizziness, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, stupor, seizure, and coma. In addition hypoxia caused by kerosene aspiration may cause additional brain depression including, drowsiness, tremor, or convulsions. It can even affect the bone marrow, the blood producing organs.
So it is clear that the Kerosene that is commonly used is a very dangerous material if it finds its way into the mouth of children.
What do you do at home if a child drink kerosene accidentally?
Unlike most poisoning cases where mothers always try to induce vomiting so as to get rid of the poison quickly….this is a no – no in kerosene poisoning. Do not induce vomiting!!!
Another common thing most mums do is to give the child Palm oil to drink. Please do not give the child palm oil. It will worsen the aspiration and cause pneumonitis.
Infact, Do not give anything as a form of home remedy!
Just take to hospital no matter how small the amount of kerosene the child has ingested.
The child will be observed and after 2 hours, a Chest X-ray will be done to check for pneumonitis.
The child will be observed for 6 – 8 hours. If for example, the child begins to breathe fast, oxygen will be given. Symptoms are treated as they arise.
If very serious symptoms occur, for example child becoming unconscious or oxygen saturation still not good with face-mask oxygen, the child will need to be transferred to intensive care unit.
However, if the child did not develop any symptoms after 6 hours, the child will be discharged home for parents to bring back if he should develop any symptoms. There is really no drugs specific for kerosene poisoning symptoms are treated as they arise.
Prevention of kerosene poisoning
The most important thing is prevention. Please pay attention all you mums who use kerosene stoves or have kerosene at home.
⦁ Keep kerosene in appropriate and labelled containers like your black or coloured jerry cans.
⦁ Do not ever ever store or buy kerosene in bottled water containers like eva and the rest. Do not buy or store in coke, fanta etc bottles.
⦁ Keep the containers of fuel locked away from the reach of children.
⦁ All children below age 5 should not have access to kitchen or places where you store.
⦁ For those selling the kerosene, their kids are usually victims, pls do not take kids with you….kerosene poisoning happens in seconds….the same minute it takes to say hi to mama neighbour.
⦁ Never ever leave children at home unsupervised!
Remember the 4A’s for the prevention of all accidental poisonings ( in general) also applies here:
↑ Awareness
↓ Attractiveness
↓ Accessibility
↓ Availability
A1 – This blog post is about increasing your awareness of a dangerous liquid in your home called kerosene.
A2 – Do it by keeping kerosene in containers children will not easily be attracted to unlike table waters, soft drinks or juice. These are easy attractions for the curious explorers called under-5s.
A3 – Do it by locking them away, not in the low cupboards in kitchen but in the upper cupboards or in a locked store away from reach.
A4 – If possible, use alternative source of fuel for cooking or only buy quantity you will poured all immediately into stove. This will decrease free lying around easy to drink leftovers.
Remember prevention is always better than cure!!!
Let us prevent kerosene poisoning in our children. Comments and questions are welcomed.
Am so excited reading this post. My nephew of 3 yrs had such experience and I have a kid of less than 5. So I will readily apply the thoughts hear. Thanks a lot.
You are welcome Ruth!
A good piece of information. Nice
Thank you Okomayin!
Please read more articles on the website!
Thank you so much doctor…may God bless u ma.
You are welcome Aminat
God bless you doc and keep watch over your own.
Amen, thank you!
Thanks doctor for the information.
You are welcome Dorcas
Thanks alot ma,more grease to ur elbow
Thank you Lauretta! Keep reading and keep learning!
It was around 1955. I was maybe 11/2 yrs old. I don’t remember it happening. My dad was cleaning the space heater and I drank kerosene. I started choking and my dad turned me upside down and pounded my back. I turned all blue he said, my gramma went back in house she thought I was dead. He said I had blue areas on my face for days. I highly doubt I was taken to hospital cause that’s all he ever told me. So I am lucky to be alive.
Thank God you are alive Barbara…..Indeed you are so lucky!
Doctor good work ma,just now my son 2yr drink kerosene… Buh her mum said is just a sip dat she withdrew it immedietly she notice…but he has vomited on his own and was given palm..oil with milk..now is sleeping…plz re we still save..
She should not have been giving the palm oil. Just watch and observe and if you notice any unusual symptoms e.g. fast breathing or drowsiness, then please take him to the hospital
My wife carelessly left the kerosinwe in d seating room where i like lying down with my son before going to bed. The Lori was in an Eva water container and the boy took it though so small. We didn’t noticed it was keeping until he started coughing and was choking. Immediately we gave him a spoon of palm oil and after 5 minutes, he vomited. The next morning he stooled. He was not taking to hospital and he became normal. But after over a week, when he is sleeping in the night, he will be coughing hard and during the coughing, he be sounding as if he is choking. What could be the cause for this? Is it still the effect of the korosine? Pls what do i do? Thanks
Kindly take him back to the hospital for further evaluation. He needs to have a Chest Xray done as well to rule out what we called Lipoid pneumonia. Giving Palm oil to someone who took kerosene is like going from frypan to fire. Please don’t o. Read my article about palm oil antidote here
My baby drank in the afternoon n he started coughing immediately but when he was given palm oil, the coughing stopped but right now his temperature is rising
You should take the child to the hospital for further evaluation and management.
Doc. Thanks slot for this post. My 3year old son drank kerozine on Saturday, I goggled on what to do and saw this post and it was helpful. Though I gave him water and took him to the hospital.
Wow, thanks for the feedback Susan. I am happy that you found it helpful. I hope your son is okay now. Please try and store kerosene locked away from children.
Plz my sisters son 1/6yrs took kerosine and was given red oil but since then he hasn’t pooed despite taking him to the hospital and if his tummy is been pressed or u made him bend or stand he will start groaning and whining. In the hospital they gave him drugs but still no improvement, so what should we do ma’am?
You need to take him back to the hospital for follow up and preferably a Teaching Hospital with paediatricians. For faster responses to questions, please join and post your questions on our Ask The Paediatricians Facebook group 24 hours service.
Pls my niece of 2 yrs drank a small quantity of kerosene nd after an hr she vomited while drinking her tea…pls what should i do.thank you
You did not specify how long ago this happened but it would have been prudent to have taken her to the hospital so they can examine her for the complications especially of pneumonia. I hope she is okay now? Kindly keep such products locked away from the reach of children.
Good morning Doc.. Pls my 13 month old child was mostly given keresone though it was a little simple and he started to cough, and we had to give him palm oil and after awhile was given water to drink… But now he has stop coughing and he is sleeping, pls is there going to be any problem to my child cause it happens around 12:30am in d mid night so we had to give him palm oil to drink, hope we r save???
I don’t think so. It is best you go to the hospital.
my child accidently drank kerosine i quickly go to internet to be enlited on the first aid and i got it right, and got prevention to avoid future occurence.
We are glad you found this article useful. Keep reading other articles and learning!
I drink kerosene with aged shivambu (urine) for the health it good for you and kerosene not poison and also I read on goggle that kerosene make you healthy but I vomit and cannot breathing and cough should I go to doctor even though doctor is jew?
Hope you have learnt your lesson? You don’t have to believe everything you read online. I cannot believe you would accept that hydrocarbon fuel will make you healthy. If you believe that nonsense, you can believe anything. AT least thank God you are alive to learn not to do that again. You should go to the hospital and it does not matter who your doctor is.