Calcium hydroxide

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Calcium hydroxide

Home Treatment:

DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING!
If calcium hydroxide is on the skin or in the eye flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes.
If calcium hydroxide is swallowed, give milk or water to dilute it.
For an inhalation patient, remove the patient to fresh air.

Before Calling Emergency:

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Determine the following information:

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

Poison Control, or a local emergency number:

Follow all instructions given to you by the Poison Control Center. It is always necessary to seek medical attention for this type of exposure. See Poison Control centers for telephone numbers and addresses. Bring the poison container with you to the emergency room.

What to expect at the emergency room:

Some or all of the following procedures may be performed:

For swallowed poison
- Placement of a tube down the nose and into the stomach (a nasogastric tube, or an NG tube) to wash out the stomach
- Endoscopy -- the placement of a camera down the throat to see the extent of burns to the esophagus and the stomach
- Give IV fluids
- Admission to the hospital
- Give an antidote
- Treat the symptoms
For inhaled poisons
- A breathing tube may need to be inserted
- Oxygen
- Admission to the hospital or to the intensive care unit
- Bronchoscopy (inserting a camera down the throat into the airway to evaluate the extent of burns to the airway and lungs)
For skin exposure
- Irrigation (washing of the skin), perhaps every few hours for several days
- Skin debridement (surgical removal of burned skin)
- Admission or transfer to a hospital that specializes in burn care

Expectations (prognosis):

Survival past 48 hours usually indicates that recovery will occur. If chemical burn occurred in the eye, permanent blindness can result. The prognosis (probable outcome) depends on how rapidly the alkali was diluted and neutralized.

Extensive damage to the mouth, throat, eyes, lungs, esophagus, nose, and stomach are possible. The ultimate outcome depends on the extent of this damage.

Damage continues to occur to the esophagus and stomach for several weeks after the alkali was swallowed, and death may occur as long as a month later.