Principles of management of poisons in contact with skin or eyes

Management of Skin contamination

• Remove all clothing and personal effects and thoroughly flush all exposed areas with copious amounts of water
• Use soap and water for oily substances
• Attending staff should take care to protect themselves from secondary contamination by wearing gloves and apron
• Removed clothing and personal effects should be store d safely in a see-through plastic bag that can be sealed, for later cleansing or disposal

Management of Eye contamination

• Rinse the eye for 10–15 minutes with clean running water or saline, taking care that the run-off does not enter the other eye.
• The use of tetracaine hydrochloride eye drops will assist irrigation8. Evert the eyelids and ensure that all surfaces are rinsed.
• In the case of an acid or alkali irrigate for 20 minutes
• Where possible, the eye should be thoroughly examined under fluorescein staining for signs of corneal damage.
• If there is significant conjunctival or corneal damage, the patient should be seen urgently by an ophthalmologist.
• Refer when further eye evaluation cannot be performed.

• Pharmacological

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Prevention

Educate the patient on Dos and Don’ts of poisoning prevention.

Do’s

• Keep medicines and poison in proper containers and out of reach of children
• Use containers with child resistant caps
• Keep all products in their original container
• Read medicine labels carefully to avoid mistake

Don’ts

• Leave container open
• Transfer products from their origin
• Remove labels from the medicine products
• Put tablets into another containers such as purse or envelope
• Medicine/tablets as sweet
• Take your medicine in front of children as they often copy

References

1. STG