First aid for a dieffenbachia burn
Dieffenbachia is an unpretentious evergreen that adorns many homes and offices. Its elongated-oval large leaves with a variegated pattern fit well into a modern interior. But when purchasing dieffenbachia to decorate your home, do not forget that this beautiful plant is a danger to others, and especially to children.
Source: depositphotos.com
How does a dieffenbachia burn happen?
Dieffenbachia juice has a pronounced irritant effect. Experts associate it with the content of small crystals of calcium oxalate with sharp needle-sharp edges, as well as some plant enzymes.
When dieffenbachia juice gets on the skin, dermatitis develops. The ingestion of this juice in the mouth, which occurs at the time of chewing the leaves, causes serious burns to the mucous membrane of the mouth, pharynx, tongue, larynx. It is especially dangerous if the dieffenbachia juice gets into the eyes, as it burns the cornea, which can cause permanent loss of vision.
Burn symptoms
When juice gets on the skin, its swelling, redness, and blisters appear on it. This process is accompanied by burning pain and severe itching.
Dieffenbachia juice in the eyes is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Pain in the eyes;
- photophobia;
- lacrimation;
- blepharospasm;
- changes in intraocular pressure;
- deterioration of vision, up to its complete loss.
A dangerous condition also develops when the juice of a poisonous plant enters the mouth. Within a few seconds, the victim feels an unbearable burning pain in his mouth. Other symptoms of a burn of the oral mucosa with dieffenbachia:
- increased salivation (hypersalivation);
- swelling of the mucous membrane of the mouth, larynx, salivary glands and tongue;
- violation of the swallowing process;
- temporary loss of speech function.
A severe burn with dieffenbachia juice can lead to such a pronounced edema of the mucous membrane of the oropharynx that the patient develops obstruction of the upper respiratory tract, accompanied by respiratory failure.
First aid for a dieffenbachia burn
For toxic dermatitis that develops after skin contact with dieffenbachia juice, first aid consists in rinsing the damaged area abundantly with cool running water. To reduce pain, the surface can be sprayed with Lidocaine spray.
In case of chemical burns of the eyes caused by dieffenbachia juice, they should be rinsed for a long time, at least 15-20 minutes, with cool water. Then, in order to prevent secondary infection, a solution of Sulfacil sodium, Furacilin or Levomycetin eye drops should be instilled into the eyes.
Source: depositphotos.com
If you burn your mouth, rinse your mouth with plenty of water. There is no point in washing the stomach, since a burning pain occurs in the oral cavity almost instantly and the victim does not have time to swallow the poisonous leaf, spits it out. To reduce pain, you can rinse your mouth with a 0.5% solution of Novocaine or Procaine. After that, the patient is given milk and cool water to drink.
When is medical attention required?
Toxic dermatitis with dieffenbachia burns usually goes away quickly and patients usually do not seek medical help. If symptoms persist for a day, the lesion should be lubricated with zinc mash or corticosteroid ointment, such as Prednisolone.
In case of a chemical burn of the eyes, after providing first aid, the victim should be immediately taken to the emergency room of the nearest ophthalmological hospital. Treatment in this case is carried out using eye drops containing antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and local anesthetics. With severe pain syndrome, pain relievers are prescribed.
If dieffenbachia juice enters the oral cavity, seek medical attention as soon as possible, as the patient may develop airway obstruction, leading to suffocation. To reduce pain, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed in the form of injections. The detoxification therapy is shown. To stop the edema of the mucous membrane of the oropharynx, patients are prescribed diuretics (Furosemide, Lasix), Euphyllin, corticosteroids (Prednisolone, Dexamethasone). In case of ineffectiveness of the medication treatment and the increase in respiratory failure, tracheal intubation is performed, and the patient is transferred to auxiliary artificial ventilation.
Possible consequences
A chemical eye burn caused by dieffenbachia juice is dangerous by the development of corneal opacity, which leads to a significant and sometimes complete loss of visual function of the affected eye. In this case, to restore vision, one has to resort to a donor corneal transplant.
Severe edema of the mucous membrane of the oropharynx can be fatal due to the overlap of the edematous tissues of the airway lumen.
Prevention
Given that a dieffenbachia burn can lead to serious consequences, it is very important to follow the rules for safe handling of this plant. The transplant should be performed only with rubber gloves; after watering and wiping the sheets from dust, hands should be thoroughly washed with soap and running water.
If there are small children in the house, it is better to refuse to keep dieffenbachia at home, or at least place the plant in a place inaccessible to them.
Elena Minkina Doctor anesthesiologist-resuscitator About the author
Education: graduated from the Tashkent State Medical Institute, specializing in general medicine in 1991. Repeatedly passed refresher courses.
Work experience: anesthesiologist-resuscitator of the city maternity complex, resuscitator of the hemodialysis department.
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