MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Colognes

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Colognes

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 is poisoning from swallowing cologne.

Poisonous Ingredient

Ethyl alcohol (ethanol)
Isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol)

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Where Found

Various colognes

Symptoms

Lungs
- Slowed breathing
Gastrointestinal
- Vomiting (may be bloody)
- Abdominal pain
Heart and blood
- Low blood pressure
Nervous system
- Stupor
- Coma
- Swaying from side to side
- Unable to walk in a normal manner
- Slurred speech
- Anxious, easily upset

Home Care

Seek immediate medical help. DO NOT make a person throw up unless you are told to do so by a doctor or poison control.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

Patient's age, weight, and condition
Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
Time it was swallowed
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
A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)

Outlook (Prognosis)

Survival over 24 hours usually indicates recovery will follow.

Update Date: 3/13/2006

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

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