MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Copper poisoning

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Copper poisoning

Contents of this page:
Definition Poisonous Ingredient Where Found Symptoms Home Care	Before Calling Emergency Poison Control What to Expect at the Emergency Room Outlook (Prognosis)

Definition

This article discusses poisoning from an overdose of copper.

Poisonous Ingredient

Copper

Where Found

Copper wire
Some aquarium products
Vitamin and mineral supplements
Certain insecticides and fungicides

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Symptoms

Swallowing large amounts of copper may cause vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and jaundice. Touching large amounts of copper can result in hair discoloration (green).

Anemia
Burning sensation
Chills
Convulsions
Diarrhea (often bloody and may be blue in color)
Fever
Liver failure
Metallic taste
Muscular aches
Nausea
No urine output
Pain
Shock
Vomiting
Weakness
Yellow eyes
Yellow skin

Home Care

Seek immediate medical help. DO NOT make a person throw up unless told to do so by Poison Control or a health care professional.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight, and condition
The name of the product (and ingredients and strengths, if known)
The time it was swallowed
The amount swallowed

Poison Control

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

See National Poison Control center.

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. The patient may receive:

Medicines to treat symptoms
Activated charcoal
A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
Medicine (antidote) to reverse the effect of the poison
Dialysis

Outlook (Prognosis)

Sudden (acute) copper poisoning is rarely seen. However, serious long-term health problems, including liver failure and death, can occur with significant poisonings.

If toxicity is due to long-time accumulation, the ultimate outcome depends how much damage there is to body organs.

Update Date: 10/23/2006

Updated by: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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