Swallowed Kerosene And Drank Water. Feeling Normal And Breathing Fine. Should I Be Worried?

Posted on Fri, 20 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 Answered on

Thu, 9 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi there. I have swallowed a small mouthfull of kerosene. What shall I do? I drank 2 pints of water straight after. 3 hours have gone by and I feel normal. Breathing etc fine.

Answered by Dr. Anil Grover (56 minutes later)

Hi there,
It looks that you are doing OK.
But please call the following number for further help.
www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk - 0845 4647

WWW.WWWW.WW - 0000 24 24 24

Remember that:

How well a patient does depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment was received. The faster a patient gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery.

Swallowing kerosene may cause damage to the linings of the mouth, throat, esophagus (food pipe), stomach, and intestines. If kerosene gets into the lungs (aspiration), serious and, possibly, permanent lung damage can occur.

Damage can continue to occur for several weeks after the poison was swallowed. Death may occur as long as a month afterwards.

Good Luck.
With Best Wishes
Dr Anil Grover,
Cardiologist
M.B.;B.S, M.D. (Internal Medicine) D.M.(Cardiology)
http://www/ WWW.WWWW.WW

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar