This hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions. This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The provider will measure and monitor the person's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
Symptoms will be treated as appropriate. The person may receive:. How well a person does depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment was received. The faster a person gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery. Swallowing gasoline may cause damage to the linings of the mouth, throat, esophagus food pipe , stomach, and intestines.
If gasoline gets into the lungs aspiration , serious and possibly permanent lung damage can occur. The harsh taste of gasoline makes it unlikely that large quantities will be swallowed.
However, several cases of poisoning have occurred in people trying to suck siphon gas from an automobile tank using a garden hose or other tube. Exposure to it, either through inhalation or physical contact, can cause health problems.
The effects of gasoline poisoning can harm every major organ. Swallowing gasoline can cause a wide range of problems for your vital organs. Symptoms of gasoline poisoning may include:. When gasoline comes into contact with your skin, you may experience redness , irritation, or burns.
Hydrocarbons are a type of dangerous organic substance made up of hydrogen and carbon molecules. Hydrocarbons are part of all sorts of modern substances, including:. The hydrocarbons are the reason why gasoline is poisonous. However, not all forms of gasoline exposure will lead to gasoline poisoning. But accidentally touching liquid gasoline can harm your skin.
Perhaps one of the greatest risks of gasoline exposure is the harm it can do to your lungs when you inhale its fumes. Long-term exposure in the open can also damage your lungs. Swallowing gasoline can damage the inside of your body and cause permanent damage to major organs. If a person swallows a large amount of gasoline, it can even cause death.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is of particular concern, especially if you have a job where you operate gasoline-powered machines on a regular basis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , small, gas-powered engines are especially harmful because they emit high amounts of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is both invisible and odorless, so you may breathe in large quantities without even knowing it.
This can cause permanent brain damage and death. Some recent research has suggested that diesel, a byproduct of gasoline, increases the risk of lung cancer. When you regularly come into contact with fumes from diesel or gasoline, your lungs may start to deteriorate over time. Diesel is used primarily as fuel for trains, buses, and farm vehicles. As diesel engines gain popularity because of their energy efficiency, people need to be more aware of their dangers.
Follow these safety measures:. However, the interaction of the components will most likely influence the metabolizing enzymes, thereby altering the elimination rate of a component. The increased metabolism of antipyrine in humans and experimental animals exposed to gasoline vapors suggests that mixed-function oxygenase activity is accelerated by gasoline.
Some gasoline hydrocarbons are oxidized by liver microsomal-enzyme systems to products that are readily excreted in the urine. No specific data exist on excretion patterns of gasoline mixtures after exposure. Because alkanes are stable, saturated compounds, they generally are not metabolized. Most of what is systemically absorbed is excreted unchanged through the lungs. Tetraethyl lead and tetramethyl lead can be rapidly absorbed through inhalation and skin contact.
After absorption, these organic lead compounds are rapidly dealkylated by the liver to trialkyl metabolites that are toxic. The trialkyl metabolites, which are water soluble, can accumulate in the brain; they are slowly metabolized to inorganic lead. Methanol is readily absorbed after inhalation or ingestion. A small portion is eliminated unchanged in the breath and urine, but most is metabolized in the liver to formaldehyde, formate, formic acid, carbon dioxide, and water.
Formate is the intermediate metabolite believed to be responsible for the delayed effects of methanol poisoning. Recent research shows that formate accumulation in the blood of monkeys parallels the development of ocular disturbances and acidosis. The metabolism of formic acid and formate is dependent, in part, on the vitamin folate.
The low level of methanol that could be absorbed during automobile refueling would be metabolized readily to nontoxic compounds through this folate-dependent pathway in most people. However, ingestion of large amounts of gasoline can result in absorption of methanol in a quantity sufficient to quickly overwhelm the folate-dependent metabolic pathway and produce severe toxicity.
Ethanol is readily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs, whereas absorption through the skin is usually negligible. Ethanol toxicity in humans is rarely attributed to gasoline inhalation exposure.
The remaining MTBE is either metabolized or excreted unchanged in the urine. When metabolized, MTBE is oxidized to formaldehyde and demethylated to tertiary butyl alcohol, which may then be further oxidized to 2-methyl-1,2-propanediol and alpha-hydroxyisobutyric acid.
These oxidation products are excreted in the urine. The major target organ of gasoline exposure is the central nervous system CNS. Inhalation is the most common route of exposure. Much smaller amounts, if aspirated into the lungs, may lead to lipoid pneumonitis. Contact with liquid gasoline can cause an acute burning sensation in the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.
Prolonged contact with liquid gasoline can defat the skin and cause irritation and dermatitis. Absorption of gasoline probably increases if the skin is broken. Systemic gasoline poisoning due solely to skin exposure has not been documented conclusively. The major systemic effect of acute gasoline overexposure is CNS depression. Overexposure can lead to facial flushing, ataxia, vertigo, mental confusion, headaches, blurred vision, slurred speech, and difficulty swallowing.
At very high concentrations, coma and death can occur within a few minutes without any accompanying respiratory depression or anoxia. In laboratory studies, human volunteers exposed to gasoline vapor developed dizziness and headaches at concentrations greater than ppm.
A 1-hour exposure to ppm caused slight dizziness and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. At 10, ppm, nose and throat irritation developed within 2 minutes, dizziness within 4 minutes, and signs of intoxication in 4 to 10 minutes.
Humans exposed to high, nonlethal concentrations of gasoline usually recover completely, although rare cases of permanent brain damage after massive exposure have been reported.
Chronic intentional abuse e. The cause of death has been postulated to be either CNS depression, leading to respiratory failure, or a lowering of the myocardial threshold to the dysrhythmogenic effects of circulating catecholamines, leading to fatal dysrhythmia. Chronic abuse of leaded gasoline may cause a range of neurologic effects including encephalopathy, ataxia, and tremor. The neurologic effects may have been due to the action of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, tetraethyl lead, or both.
The potential neurotoxicity associated with repeated low-level exposure to gasoline is undetermined. Appropriate occupational studies are not available and the results of experimental animal studies do not provide a dose-response relationship sufficient to determine a no-observed-adverse-effect level NOAEL. Subtle neurotoxic effects have been reported in two animal studies. At ppm, a reduction in overall activity was observed in rats, whereas at the lower concentrations tested i. At high concentrations, gasoline vapor is a respiratory-tract irritant.
Pulmonary congestion, edema, acute exudative tracheobronchitis, and intrapulmonary hemorrhage were found when autopsies were performed on persons who died from gasoline overexposure. The lungs of rats chronically exposed to intermediate levels of gasoline vapor showed a progression of lesions characteristic of fibrosing alveolitis interstitial fibrosis and alveolar collapse.
Concurrent with. Gasoline contains many low-viscosity compounds, which pose a serious pulmonary aspiration hazard. If such compounds are introduced directly into the lung or aspirated during emesis, a severe chemical pneumonitis characterized by pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, and tissue necrosis can result.
Pulmonary aspiration of gasoline is a particular concern after ingestion exposure in children, which may occur when gasoline is stored in improperly labeled or inappropriate household containers. Ingestion and pulmonary aspiration may also occur from siphoning gasoline. Several case reports describe hematologic effects in persons with known long-term exposure to gasoline vapor.
In these case reports, the blood dyscrasias described i. Benzene does not pose an identifiable risk to consumers during normal gasoline use because of its low concentration, although it can cause serious damage to the hematopoietic system see Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Benzene Toxicity.
More than 55 epidemiologic studies of workers exposed occupationally to hydrocarbons have been published. These studies, in general, have not substantiated the carcinogenic effects observed in experimental animals. A recent case-control study examined kidney cancer deaths reported in refinery workers and concluded there was no association between kidney cancer and exposure to gasoline-like vapors in refineries. Studies of workers in the British and Canadian gasoline distribution systems from the refinery to the service-station pump showed instances of excess cases of kidney cancer and leukemia, but these findings were not statistically significant and did not appear related to exposure levels.
A recent study of U. A small excess of a subtype of leukemia was seen in the land-based group but was not related to gasoline exposure levels. This observation and the small excess of leukemia cases observed in distribution workers in Britain and. Canada suggest a possible association that needs further evaluation. A meta-analysis in of several epidemiologic studies did not reveal any clear association between gasoline exposure and leukemia.
The authors of the analysis did conclude that some refinery workers, particularly those employed before , may have been at increased risk for developing leukemia caused by the relatively large exposures to benzene that employees experienced in that era. In , the International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC reviewed the world literature on gasoline and concluded that the experimental animal data provide only limited evidence of carcinogenicity and that human epidemiologic studies were inadequate because of lack of complete exposure data, concurrent exposures to other chemicals, and other confounding factors.
However, because of the limited evidence from experimental animal studies and the presence of benzene and 1,3-butadiene in gasoline, IARC concluded that gasoline is possibly carcinogenic to humans. No studies are currently available to evaluate the potential reproductive toxicity of gasoline.
Ethanol is the only major gasoline additive with unequivocal evidence of human reproductive or developmental toxicity. Ingestion of as little as one ounce of ethanol daily by pregnant women can cause adverse effects in offspring e. However, gasohol—a blend of gasoline and ethanol—is a very unlikely vehicle for such exposure. A person would have to ingest or inhale large amounts of hydrocarbons to receive sufficient ethanol exposure from gasohol, and the hydrocarbons themselves would cause acute toxicity.
There is evidence that methanol, toluene, benzene, xylene, 1,3-butadiene, and methyl-t-butyl ether can cause reproductive or developmental effects in experimental animals under various exposure situations. Low-level exposure to those chemicals during normal use and handling of gasoline, however, should not pose human reproductive or developmental health risks. When patients have acute symptoms from gasoline overexposure, it is usually apparent where and how the exposure occurred.
Persons who are inadequately protected have been overcome by gasoline vapors while cleaning or working in gasoline storage tanks, although this occurrence is rare. Occasionally, emergency spills or leaks can also lead to acute overexposure. Persons who abuse gasoline through intentional inhalation can most often be identified from the history. More problematic are cases in which patients have vague or nonspecific symptoms, and no obvious exposure incident can be elicited.
Specific questions should be asked regarding mouth siphoning of gasoline and use of gasoline as a solvent to clean tools, hands, automobile parts, or garage floors. Open containers of gasoline in a confined space, such as a garage, cannot only pose a serious fire or explosion hazard but can result in potentially toxic vapor concentrations.
The physical examination should emphasize the neurologic system because it is the principal target organ for gasoline toxicity. In severe overexposures, life-threatening CNS depression and potential respiratory arrest can occur. When ingestion of gasoline is suspected, the patient should be evaluated for possible pulmonary aspiration, which may lead to complications of chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, and pulmonary hemorrhage. Ingestion can also cause gastrointestinal disturbances.
Acute gasoline toxicity occurs only rarely today and is most often associated with emergencies involving the cleaning or maintenance of storage tanks, exposures related to large spills or leaks, intentional inhalation of gasoline vapors to obtain euphoric effects, deliberate ingestion in suicide attempts, or unintentional ingestion during siphoning, or misuse of gasoline as a solvent. The signs and symptoms that develop after acute exposure depend on the route of exposure and the dose absorbed.
High-concentration exposures by any route cause CNS depression, which results in confusion, tinnitus, disorientation, headache, drowsiness, weakness, seizures, and coma. Inhalation may produce respiratory-tract irritation, resulting in dyspnea, tachypnea, and rales that may progress rapidly to massive pulmonary edema; a burning sensation in the chest may be present.
Ingestion may cause pain and irritation of the mucous membranes, resulting in nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Irritation and dermatitis can occur after skin contact, and conjunctivitis can occur after eye contact. Chronic abuse of gasoline through sniffing has been reported to cause cardiac dysrhythmias and tachycardia. Studies have clearly demonstrated that exposures to gasoline and its constituents, including benzene, n-hexane, and 1,3-butadiene during refueling of motor vehicles, are not a serious health hazard for consumers.
Organic lead compounds can produce chronic neurologic toxicity, but exposure to such compounds in gasoline is currently negligible in the United States. Potential lead toxicity remains a concern in countries that continue to formulate or use leaded gasoline.
Ethanol, methanol, and other additives in gasoline pose potential exposure risks, particularly through unintentional ingestion or suicide attempts. These materials, however, are not hazardous to consumers in the amounts volatilized when gasoline is used as a motor fuel.
Hydrocarbon toxicity is likely to occur before toxicity from these additives occurs. Chronic exposure to gasoline through contaminated drinking water could pose a health risk if concentrations are excessive, especially if the gasoline has a high methanol content; chronic exposure to methanol poses a risk because of its high toxicity after ingestion.
Patients whose symptoms suggest CNS toxicity should have a neurologic evaluation. This evaluation might include neurobehavioral testing and an EEG. After severe, acute overexposure to gasoline, degenerative changes may occur in the liver and kidneys; these effects should be evaluated through routine laboratory testing.
Persons with suspected ingestion should also have a careful pulmonary evaluation, including a baseline chest radiograph to assess possible aspiration. A follow-up chest X ray should be obtained in about 6 hours if pulmonary symptoms develop. Pulse oximetry or arterial blood-gas analyses may be needed to assess oxygenation if significant pulmonary symptoms or cyanosis are present.
Prolonged ingestion of drinking water contaminated with relatively high levels of gasoline may pose a small risk related to benzene exposure. Although no definitive evidence exists to indicate that such exposures are associated with any increased risk of hematologic disorders, in some limited circumstances, periodic hematologic monitoring has been suggested.
It is unclear whether such testing can detect early development of leukemia. Additional information for the case study: Several drinking-water analyses indicate levels of benzene ranging from non-detectable to 0. Could this exposure to gasoline account for his complaints? No specific antidotes exist for gasoline; medical management for exposed persons is supportive.
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