Swimming pool cleaners

Definition

Swimming pool cleaners (liquids and tablets) are poisonous if swallowed. Touching the chemicals and acids in swimming pool cleaners or breathing in their fumes can also cause problems. Chlorine, a chemical in swimming pool cleaners, is more likely to cause serious poisonous than the acids.

Poisonous Ingredient

• Chlorine
• Various mild acids (Sodium bisulfate, phosphoric acid, sodium thiosulfate, cyanuric acid)
• Bromine
• Calcium hypochlorite
• Chelated copper
• Soda ash
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Calcium chloride

Where Found

• Various swimming pool cleaners (BioGuard, Guardex, pace, burnout, msa algaecide, Polysheen)

Symptoms

• Lungs
  • Breathing difficulty (from inhalation)
  • Throat swelling (which may also cause breathing difficulty)
• Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
  • Severe pain in the throat
  • Severe pain or burning in the nose, eyes, ears, lips, or tongue
  • Loss of vision
• Gastrointestinal
  • Severe abdominal pain
  • Vomiting (may contain blood)
  • Burns of the esophagus (food pipe)
  • Nausea
  • Blood in the stool
• Heart and blood
  • Hypotension (low blood pressure) develops rapidly
  • Collapse
• Skin
  • Irritation
  • Burn
  • Necrosis (holes) in the skin or underlying tissues
• Blood
  • Too much or too little acid in the blood - leads to organ damage

Home Treatment

DO NOT make a person throw up unless told to do so by Poison Control or a health care professional. Seek immediate medical help.

If the chemical is on the skin or in the eyes, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes.

If the chemical was swallowed, immediately give the person water or milk, unless instructed otherwise by a health care provider. DO NOT give water or milk if the patient is having symptoms (such as vomiting, convulsions, or a decreased level of alertness) that make it hard to swallow.

If the person breathed in the poison, immediately move him or her to fresh air.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

• Patient's age, weight, and condition
• Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
• Time it was swallowed
• Amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national 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 U.S. 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.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

See National Poison Control center.

What to expect at the emergency room

The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. The patient may receive:

• Fluids by IV
• Medicines to treat symptoms
• Activated charcoal
• A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
• Medicines to treat an allergic reaction (diphenhydramine, epinephrine, or prednisone)
• Endoscopy -- the placement of a camera down the throat to see the extent of burns to the esophagus and the stomach
• Medicine (antidote) to reverse the effect of the poison
• Irrigation (washing of the skin), perhaps every few hours for several days
• Skin debridement (surgical removal of burned skin)
• Breathing tube
• Oxygen
• Bronchoscopy (camera down the throat to see burns in the airway and lungs)

Expectations (prognosis)

How well a patient does depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment was received. 

High dose of chlorine and swimming pool cleaning acids can be extremely poisonous in very high doses. Extensive damage to the mouth, throat, and stomach are possible. The ultimate outcome will depend on the extent of this damage.

The faster a patient gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery.