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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Exposure To Chemical Cause Adverse Side Effects?

Hi. How serious is possible chemical inhalation exposure? I don’t know what the chemical actually was, but I coach a swim team, and just before practice (indoors) we noticed a really strong smell. It was like something was burning, or maybe a chemically smell. I did some investigating and tried to find the source (while my swimmers were out in the hallway, so they were safe) and ultimately couldn’t find anything myself. I called maintenance, and they came to look. After about 20-30 total minutes of exposure, we decided to cancel practice and let the maintenance workers figure it out. Once outside and on the bus ride back to our school, I noticed a severe head ache. I was also unusually tired. After awhile I started to notice pain down the center of my chest, almost like my trachea was hurting. I thought after awhile it would just go away, with exposure to fresh air, but it hasn’t. I figure there isn’t anything that a doctor can do about it now, since it’s already happened, but I figured i should check.
posted on Mon, 19 Feb 2018
Twitter Mon, 28 May 2018 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 29 May 2018 Last reviewed on
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Psychiatrist 's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

From the available description it is clear that you were exposed to something as it resulted in pain chest and headache. I must acknowledge that chemicals can cause serious damage to our health depending on their nature. Since you were exposed around 20 minutes and were able to ride a bus I feel they were not strong enough to cause serious damage. Despite this fact I will request you to contact the maintenance and let me know what was the nature of inhaled chemical as this will help us to figure out accurately.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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Does Exposure To Chemical Cause Adverse Side Effects?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. From the available description it is clear that you were exposed to something as it resulted in pain chest and headache. I must acknowledge that chemicals can cause serious damage to our health depending on their nature. Since you were exposed around 20 minutes and were able to ride a bus I feel they were not strong enough to cause serious damage. Despite this fact I will request you to contact the maintenance and let me know what was the nature of inhaled chemical as this will help us to figure out accurately. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.