Vinegar poisoning: first signs

Today, poisoning with various substances occurs quite often. At the same time, poisonings are increasingly observed that occur not as a result of exposure to strong toxins and poisons, but as a result of household substances entering the body, which at first glance are quite harmless. The most striking example of this is vinegar poisoning. This is a substance that is used by people in everyday life. It is used for preservation, added to food, used for cleaning. Nevertheless, it conceals a huge danger.

Epidemiology

Every year, approximately every 15 people on the planet is subject to vinegar poisoning. At the same time, 41% of people are mildly poisoned, approximately 54% of people are subject to severe pathologies (the lungs often fail). And 5% of people die from poisoning. It is known that 97% of intoxications manifest themselves immediately, 3% feel poisoned after 7-10 days or more. Chronic poisoning in 60% of cases is observed in people who, due to their professional duties, are forced to constantly contact with vinegar.

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Causes vinegar poisoning

There may be many reasons for poisoning, but the main thing is that they all have common motives and prerequisites. In general, all causes of poisoning can be grouped into three categories. Poisoning can happen at work. This is usually facilitated by a careless, irresponsible attitude to one's duties, disregard for safety precautions. You should always remember that when working with vinegar (as well as with vinegar essence, acetic acid, their derivatives), it is necessary to comply with a number of requirements.

It is important to use only properly functioning equipment. Depending on the working conditions, accessories designed specifically for protection may be required. It is important to conduct regular checks of work equipment, inventory, scheduled and unscheduled consultations for employees who deal with vinegar. This is important because not only the person himself is exposed to poisoning, but also the pollution of the environment increases.

The second group of reasons includes various household poisonings that happen to people who are inattentive, store vinegar incorrectly, or exceed the dosage. The greatest danger of this type of poisoning is determined by the fact that children can be poisoned, especially when parents leave vinegar unattended or do not hide it far enough. The reason is the natural curiosity and inquisitiveness of the child, which makes him try and consume various unfamiliar substances.

Women often get poisoned when preparing preserves by inhaling vinegar vapors. In this case, it is important to follow the same requirements as in working conditions. A cotton-gauze bandage or a pharmacy mask will serve as a reliable means of protection. And finally, the usual excessive addition of vinegar to food products, preserves, can cause poisoning. There are also cases when, when adding vinegar, it is mistakenly confused with other liquids, drinking it.

Finally, the last group is the committing of suicidal intentions. Also often this method of poisoning is chosen by the female part of the population, who decided to commit suicide.

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Risk factors

Those who come into contact with vinegar are at risk: at home, at work. Moreover, the more irresponsibly a person treats this substance, the more dangerous the consequences can be. People with deviant or suicidal behavior, mental disorders, prone to depression and apathy are also at risk, since they are the ones who most often use vinegar for the purpose of committing suicide.

Children whose parents do not hide vinegar in a safe place, leaving it with other food products and liquids, are also at risk. And finally, inattentive, forgetful and absent-minded people who can mistakenly add vinegar to food or drink, or exceed the dosage, can be included in the risk group.

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Pathogenesis

Pathogenesis is associated with imbalance of water-salt and alkaline balance. All signs of acute intoxication of the body appear, in which the pulse rate increases sharply, shortness of breath, the person does not have enough oxygen, suffocation occurs. Gastric bleeding may open, especially if the person has chronic gastritis, colitis or another gastrointestinal disease. In a more severe form, paralysis of the respiratory muscles may develop, resulting in severe pulmonary and bronchial edema. Ultimately, hypoglycemic shock may develop.

The most intensive pathological process occurs in human blood, which leads to anemia. There is an intensive loss of oxygen by the body. In this case, oxygen starvation of the entire body occurs, the brain does not receive the necessary amount of oxygen, internal organs are subject to hypoxia and hypercapnia.

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Symptoms vinegar poisoning

The severity of symptoms depends on the severity of the poisoning and the amount of vinegar ingested. First of all, sharp pain occurs and a chemical burn develops. The stomach, intestines, and esophagus are affected, which is accompanied by dyspeptic syndrome.

Blood circulation is disrupted, which is accompanied by blue skin, severe dizziness, headache. This condition can progress to suffocation or loss of consciousness of the victim.

The very first sign is considered to be severe pain, which is a reaction to tissue damage by toxins that have entered the mucous membrane. Redness and severe tissue swelling develop. At the same time, the body rapidly loses fluid. A person experiences a feeling of dryness, tightness of the skin and mucous membranes, as a result of which the pain only intensifies. Gradually, the skin begins to peel. With severe damage, the mucous membrane may die off, it will begin to die off.

Usually, swelling appears not only on the mucous membranes, but also on the lips, corners of the mouth, and in the oral cavity. When vinegar gets into the mouth, it can develop into a sore throat, the teeth become yellow or gray in color, small ulcers or erosions may appear in the mouth, and the lips crack. Gradually, as the vinegar is absorbed by the tissues, the pathology only worsens, the pain intensifies, and the tissues swell. Dyspeptic syndrome develops. Another characteristic symptom is the appearance of a sharp odor from the mouth and in the throat. When palpated, the pain intensifies. Gradually, the pain spreads to the entire esophagus, covers the stomach and intestines. Bleeding may begin. With a tendency to allergic reactions, an emergency condition may develop anaphylactic, glycemic shock, severe hemorrhage, loss of consciousness.

How much vinegar do you need to drink to cause poisoning? It all depends on the individual sensitivity of the body. But in general, 50 ml of the active substance is enough to develop dangerous symptoms, even death.

Acetic acid poisoning

Acetic acid is more concentrated than vinegar, therefore, poisoning occurs faster and its consequences are more dangerous for a person. Help should be provided immediately. The symptoms are no different from vinegar poisoning. A characteristic feature is that poisoning has both local and systemic effects on the body. The general effect occurs when the substance is absorbed inside. Local manifestations develop if a large amount of acetic acid gets on the skin or gets on the mucous membrane. A chemical burn develops, pathological phenomena progress, and a resorptive effect develops. It is dangerous because it can lead to more serious pathologies.

First aid should be provided immediately as soon as the first signs of the disease appear. It is necessary to remove the poisonous substance and neutralize it. The procedure should be carried out for at least 6 hours. Otherwise, it will have no effect, since the acid tends to be absorbed for quite a long time.

After the stomach is completely washed out, you can move on to symptomatic therapy. Everything is now determined by the symptoms that bother the person.

Vinegar poisoning, as well as acetic acid, requires mandatory rehabilitation. During rehabilitation therapy, antibiotic therapy, the use of antihistamines, antiallergic, hormonal agents may be required. In order to prevent more serious complications, laser irradiation of the esophagus walls is used, hormonal drugs are administered. This helps prevent stenosis and bleeding.

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Vinegar Fumes Poisoning

When inhaling vinegar vapors, both acute and chronic poisoning can occur. Acute poisoning is most often caused by a single inhalation of a large amount of vapors. Or inhalation for several minutes, hours of a certain concentration of this substance. Chronic poisoning develops with regular, systematic inhalation of vapors, over a long period of time - from several months to several years. Most often, this is work in production, in a laboratory. Chronic disease is most often an occupational disease of people working with vinegar.

It is possible to recognize vapor poisoning in the early stages by external signs: a person experiences impaired perception, distorted smells, taste sensations. Headache, slight dizziness, nausea, pain in the temples and behind the breastbone, and increased heart rate also develop. Breathing becomes more frequent and shallow. A feeling of shortness of breath appears. A feeling of heat or, conversely, cold, trembling, and slight tremor may appear. In case of burns, a burning sensation, pain, and slight redness appear.

At this time, the patient needs to be given first aid as quickly as possible, since otherwise a severe stage will suddenly occur. It can develop abruptly: the person loses consciousness, develops convulsions, tremors and shudders. In chronic poisoning, in which a person inhales vinegar vapors for a long time, the symptoms increase gradually: there is an increase in temperature, dry mouth, weakness, sometimes - delirium and hallucinations, migraines. In terms of well-being, a person feels constant drowsiness, weakness, lack of oxygen. In terms of external manifestations, in the early stages, the clinical picture is similar to exhaustion, fatigue, loss of strength. Only after this, after a week, signs of severe intoxication appear: headache, dizziness, dyspeptic disorders. Signs of poisoning are found in the blood.

Vinegar odor poisoning

Usually in such a situation there is a tremor in the body, panic, pupils become dilated. The main reflexes can be disrupted - swallowing and even breathing. This condition is dangerous because a reflex spasm of smooth muscles occurs, as a result of which innervation and blood circulation are disrupted. Blood pressure drops sharply, tachycardia occurs. Free hemoglobin appears in the blood due to the destruction of red blood cells, which leads to the appearance of a blue tint of the mucous membranes, lips, skin.

The entire metabolism is gradually disrupted, signs of intoxication increase. The danger is that diuresis is sharply reduced. This leads to fluid retention in the body, disruption of salt metabolism. Toxins cannot be eliminated from the body, and continue to have a toxic effect. As a result, edema and pulmonary emphysema develop. Development of cardiac and respiratory failure, disruption of cardiac activity, and the opening of external and internal bleeding are observed.

Red blood cells and other cells are destroyed in the blood, and the coagulation process is immediately disrupted. The renal tubules and vessels are clogged with destroyed hemoglobin. There is little urine. Urea, creatinine, and other metabolic products circulate in the blood in ever-increasing concentrations. Due to poisoning with these substances and disruption of tissue nutrition, signs of organ damage gradually appear. Damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, and heart can become critical and result in death.

Thus, vinegar poisoning can be fatal. Therefore, it is necessary to handle this product carefully in domestic conditions, and to observe safety precautions when working on an industrial scale.

Read about poisoning from table and apple cider vinegar in this article.

Child poisoning with vinegar

In general, vinegar poisoning in a child is the same as in an adult. The only difference is that intoxication increases faster, the risk of complications and associated pathologies is much higher than in an adult. Mandatory hospitalization is required. First aid should be provided as quickly as possible. First, the stomach is washed, neutralizing the poison, after which they begin to stabilize the condition and subsequent restorative therapy.

Complications and consequences

The consequences of vinegar poisoning can be very unpredictable. They largely depend on the state of the human body, its level of endurance and resistance, natural immunity. Complications to the heart occur, especially in people with cardiovascular diseases. The effect can be immediate or delayed.

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Diagnostics vinegar poisoning

Poisoning is quite easy to recognize by the clinical picture. The diagnosis can be made based on questioning and examining the patient, analyzing the medical history. Two main symptoms of poisoning are immediately noticeable - local and resorptive. The essence of local damage is that the tissues that were directly exposed to vinegar are damaged. In this case, vomiting, diarrhea, often with blood impurities, are often observed. Digestive disorders and loss of appetite occur. Bloody discharge appears in the esophagus, oral cavity and pharynx.

Gradually, as the substance is absorbed, a resorptive effect develops, in which damage develops at the systemic level, metabolic processes, function and even the blood formula are disrupted. Laboratory tests are prescribed to diagnose systemic changes. In the presence of tissue and organ damage (both primary and secondary), various pathological processes develop, which can be established using instrumental research methods. For example, if a toxic dose of vinegar is ingested, it is advisable to conduct an endoscopic examination of the gastrointestinal tract to assess the degree of damage to the mucous membrane and other layers.

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Tests

First of all, blood is taken for biochemical and clinical examination. Vinegar poisoning can be easily diagnosed by the large amount of free hemoglobin in the blood, since under the influence of vinegar, intensive hemolysis of red blood cells occurs. The body loses oxygen, and carbon dioxide and metabolic products cease to be excreted. The skin and mucous membranes turn blue. Cyanosis appears, which contributes to disruption of the heart, kidneys and liver.

The morphology of red blood cells also changes in case of poisoning. Often, during a clinical blood test, a smear is also taken. If such a smear is not taken, it can be taken in addition to the main analysis. For this purpose, a regular blood smear is taken on slides in a laboratory. The smear is prepared based on staining using the Romanovsky-Giemsa method. Then, the morphological features of red blood cells and other formed elements of the blood are studied under a microscope.

In cases of poisoning, severe intoxication, basophilic granularity of erythrocytes appears, in which they acquire a blue tint. Similar erythrocytes can also be observed in thalassemia, various types of anemia. The number of leukocytes can significantly increase in acid poisoning, and a shift in the blood formula can also occur.

Some changes can also be observed in clinical urine analysis. For example, various impurities and sediment may appear. Toxicology is performed to determine the toxic substance.

An important diagnostic test is the determination of iron in the blood serum. The normal iron content when tested by the Henry method is from 13 to 30 μmol/l. In hemolysis, signs of anemia are observed, as a result of which the iron level decreases to 1.8-5.4 μmol/l.

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Instrumental diagnostics

It is performed in case of damage to internal organs, the presence of concomitant pathologies and their signs. For example, if vinegar gets inside, chemical damage (burn) to the esophagus and stomach is possible. In order to determine the degree of damage and the nature of the pathology, its localization, a gastroscopy is performed, during which a gastroscopic probe is inserted into the stomach, and with its help the walls and mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract are examined.

An ultrasound may also be required, which will allow you to assess the condition of the organ being examined, track the main processes in dynamics, and roughly predict the further course of the pathological process. A very informative research method is computer and magnetic resonance imaging, with the help of which you can determine and study the condition of internal organs, the skeletal system, and even soft tissues.

Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnostics may be required to determine what substance the person was poisoned with. This will allow the most accurate selection of optimal treatment and effective first aid. Differential diagnostics are based on toxicological testing, which allows one to detect the name and amount of the active substance that caused the poisoning. If it is impossible to identify an obvious cause of intoxication, it is necessary to exclude rare diseases.

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Treatment vinegar poisoning

Read more about treating vinegar poisoning in this article.

Prevention

In order to ensure reliable prevention of poisoning, it is necessary to follow the rules for using food acids, vinegar, and other toxic products. It is necessary to reliably hide vinegar from children. When preparing dishes, preserves, marinades, it is necessary to strictly observe the dosage and concentration of vinegar.

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Forecast

If you take timely measures and provide the person with first aid correctly, the prognosis may be favorable. Vinegar poisoning requires additional restorative treatment aimed at eliminating the consequences of poisoning. If you do not provide first aid and do not carry out the necessary treatment, the prognosis may be unfavorable, even fatal.