Calcium Hydroxide Toxicity - Exposure, Symptoms, and Treatment

Introduction

Calcium hydroxide is a white powder that is created by combining calcium oxide (also known as lime) and water. When someone consumes this chemical, they develop calcium hydroxide poisoning. Calcium hydroxide can be found in these products. Cement, limewater, numerous industrial solvents and cleaners (thousands to a million different construction products, flooring strippers, brick cleaners, cement thickening chemicals, and many others), several hair relaxers and straighteners, and slaked lime are just a few examples.

What Are the Different Routes of Exposure to Calcium Hydroxide?

The different routes of exposure to calcium hydroxide are:

• Ingestion: According to the National Institutes of Health, accidentally ingesting calcium hydroxide can result in severe throat pain, a burning sensation in the mouth, abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody feces or vomit, rapidly dropping blood pressure, and collapse. Additionally, this kind of poisoning can cause blood pH to become excessively alkaline, which can harm organs. If calcium hydroxide is unintentionally ingested, call poison control or other emergency services right away. The victim should be given water or milk to drink right away unless they are vomiting or displaying other symptoms that would make swallowing challenging, or unless a doctor or poison specialist instructs them otherwise.

• External Exposure: Depending on the precise position and strength of the calcium hydroxide solution, external exposure to the substance can result in a number of issues. If the skin gets exposed, it can result in burns, excruciating irritation, and necrosis, while exposure to the eyes can result in excruciating discomfort and either temporary or permanent vision loss. Calcium hydroxide should be cleaned off excess amounts with a cloth, and the affected skin should be regularly rinsed with water if it has been exposed to the skin. Contaminated clothing should also be removed. Although all cases of external exposure should get rapid medical attention, victims of calcium hydroxide exposure to the eyes should flush them with water constantly for the first 15 minutes after exposure. In accordance with Absolute Astronomy, calcium hydroxide is frequently utilized in no-lye hair relaxer treatments; however, the FDA emphasizes that improper use of these products could result in burning and harm to the hair and scalp.

• Inhalation: Calcium hydroxide inhalation through the mouth or nose can also result in acute, severe, and sometimes fatal consequences. Inflammation of the throat and nasal passages can cause pain and swelling, which can narrow airways and make breathing difficult or impossible. Breathing may become more difficult if calcium hydroxide particles enter the lungs. Emergency services should be informed promptly after transferring victims of this kind of exposure to a fresh air environment. It might be necessary to administer oxygen and provide emergency breathing support.

• Chronic Exposure: Calcium hydroxide's material safety data sheet states that prolonged skin contact could have negative health effects. Since certain hair relaxers contain calcium hydroxide as an active ingredient, these symptoms may appear with lengthy, frequent usage of those products. Severe skin irritation and dermatitis are frequent signs of this kind of exposure.

What Are the Symptoms of Calcium Hydroxide Toxicity?

The signs of calcium hydroxide poisoning in various body regions are listed below.

1. Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems:

• Vision loss.

• Throat ache is quite bad.

• Severe ache or burning in the lips, tongue, ears, eyes, or ear canal.

2. Intestines and Stomach:

• Stool with blood.

• Burns in the esophagus, the food pipe.

• Intense stomach discomfort.

• Vomiting.

• Throwing up blood.

3. Blood and Heart:

• Collapse.

• Rapidly lowering blood pressure (shock).

• Severe alteration in the blood's pH equilibrium causes harm to all of the body's organs.

4. Airways and Lungs:

• Respiratory difficulties (due to chemical inhalation).

• Swelling of the throat (which may also make breathing difficult).

5. Skin:

• Burns.

• Holes (necrosis) in the tissues or skin below.

• Irritation.

What Should Be Done When Someone Has Calcium Hydroxide Toxicity?

• Seek immediate medical attention. Unless a medical professional or poison control center instructs them to avoid making the patient vomit.

• For at least 15 minutes, flush with water if the chemical is on the skin or in the eyes.

• Unless otherwise directed by a clinician, give the patient water or milk right away if the substance was ingested. If the patient is experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, seizures, or a loss of consciousness, one should not offer them water or milk.

• If they inhale the toxin, move the person to get fresh air.

What to Expect in the Emergency Room?

The patient's vital indicators, such as temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure, will be measured and observed by the healthcare professional. As necessary, symptoms will be treated. The following tests may be performed:

• During a bronchoscopy, a camera is inserted down the throat to check for burns in the lungs and airways.

• A chest X-ray.

• ECG or heart tracing.

How Is Calcium Hydroxide Toxicity Treated?

Treatment for calcium hydroxide toxicity may include the following:

• Fluid administration (IV) through a vein is one form of treatment.

• Medication for symptom management.

• Gastric lavage involves passing a tube through the mouth into the stomach to wash it out.

• Irrigation of the skin, either daily or once every few hours.

• Skin burn removal surgery.

• Breathing assistance, such as a tube inserted through the mouth into the lungs and attached to a ventilator.

What Is the Prognosis of Calcium Hydroxide Toxicity?

Depending on how much poison was ingested and how promptly treatment was given, the patient's prognosis will vary. The likelihood of recovery is improved the sooner medical assistance is provided.

Such toxins can have negative impacts on many bodily organs when ingested. Even months after the material was initially ingested, burns in the airway or digestive system might result in tissue necrosis, which can cause infection, shock, and death. These tissues may develop scars, which could cause breathing, swallowing, and digestion problems in the long run.

Calcium hydroxide can cause serious, potentially permanent lung damage if it is inhaled (aspiration). A chemical burn to the eye might leave a person permanently blind.

Conclusion

Calcium hydroxide will irritate and burn the skin when it comes into touch with the eye and skin, which will lead to eye damage. When calcium hydroxide is breathed in, it irritates the nose, throat, and lungs, resulting in coughing, wheezing, and breathing difficulties. Calcium hydroxide can lead to issues like emphysema, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory issues when inhaled. Therefore, calcium hydroxide must be handled carefully. When it comes in contact with the skin, wiping it off right away can lessen the calcium hydroxide's effects.