MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Pencil erasers

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Pencil erasers

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

Definition

This poisoning is caused by swallowing a pencil eraser.

Poisonous Ingredient

Pencil erasers contain a type of rubber. They are usually not harmful.

Where Found

Pencil erasers

Symptoms

May cause some intestinal obstruction, resulting in abdominal pain

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight, and condition
Name of product (as well as the ingredients and strength, 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 symptoms will be treated if the patient is instructed to go to the emergency room.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Since pencil erasers are considered relatively non-poisonous, recovery is likely.

Update Date: 5/23/2006

Updated by: Janeen R. Azare, PhD, MSPH, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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