Chlorine poisoning can be dangerous! here are the symptoms and how to deal with them

Chlorine is widely used in various products and industrial and household needs. Starting from bleach, cleaners, water purifiers, to disinfectants. This one substance can make a person experience poisoning when exposed, swallowed, or inhaled excessively. To find out more details, here are the symptoms and ways to treat chlorine poisoning plus how to prevent it.

Various things cause chlorine poisoning

Chlorine is a substance that can react with water, both outside and inside the body. If you swallow or inhale excessively, this one substance will react with the water in the body. This reaction then forms hydrochloric acid and hypochloric acid which are highly toxic to humans.

Swallowing too much pool water, for example, can cause you to develop chlorine poisoning. This is because chlorine is usually used to kill and prevent bacterial growth in swimming pools. Even if chlorine is used within safe limits in swimming pools, you can get poisoned if you accidentally swallow too much.

In addition, mixing chlorine with other chemicals can release harmful chlorine gas. For that, you need to be careful when using products that contain chlorine. Read the instructions for use carefully.

Symptoms of chlorine poisoning

The severity of the symptoms of chlorine poisoning usually depends on the amount of the substance that entered the body, the type of exposure, and the duration. Symptoms usually appear quickly after ingesting or inhaling the substance. You will experience various problems with the digestive, respiratory, and blood circulation systems.

If chlorine gets into the digestive system, some of the symptoms that usually appear include:

The mouth is hot as if it is burning
Sore throat
Stomach ache
Gag
Bloody bowel movements

Meanwhile, chlorine will also have an impact on the respiratory system by causing various symptoms such as:

Difficulty breathing
Swollen throat
Lungs filled with water (pulmonary edema)

Apart from causing problems in the digestive and respiratory systems, chlorine can also damage the circulatory system and cause various symptoms such as:

The pH of the blood becomes imbalanced
Low blood pressure

In addition, other symptoms can also appear in the eye causing various symptoms ranging from blurred vision, watery, burning, irritation, to blindness. Skin damage such as tissue injury from burns and irritation can also occur if exposure to the substance is directly on the skin.

How to deal with chlorine poisoning

Chlorine poisoning can be treated in various ways. Quoted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if it is caused by chlorine gas, you need to immediately leave the area and move to a place with clean air. Then, if chlorine gets on the skin, you can immediately wash the area with soap and water.

If this one substance gets into the eye, immediately rinse it with running water until it no longer feels sore. Remove contact lenses first if you are using them.

When chlorine is ingested, do not drink any liquid or attempt to force the chlorine out by vomiting. Immediately consult a doctor to get the right treatment.

Doctors will usually treat chlorine poisoning with a variety of treatments. Starting from drugs, activated charcoal, intravenous fluids, and additional oxygen. Not only that, in some cases, the doctor will also empty the stomach with a gastric suction procedure.

This procedure is done by inserting a tube through the nose or mouth to the stomach. This tube will drain the stomach contents to be removed.

If necessary, the doctor will also insert a breathing tube into the airway to make breathing easier. Nurses will also wash skin that has chlorine problems every hour if needed.

With proper treatment and given as soon as possible, you can recover from the various symptoms you feel.