Tar Remover

Home treatment:

for kerosene: DO NOT INDUCE EMESIS (VOMITING)!

for carbon tetrachloride: Induce emesis (vomiting) unless patient is unconscious or experiencing convulsions. Before inducing emesis, contact Poison Control to verify that is what should be done.

For ethylene dichloride: DO NOT INDUCE EMESIS (VOMITING)!

Before calling emergency:

Determine the following information:

• the patient's age, weight, and condition
• the name of the product (as well as the ingredients and strength if known)
• the time it was swallowed
• the amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number:

They will instruct you if it is necessary to take the patient to the hospital. See Poison Control centers for telephone numbers and addresses. Bring the poison container with you to the emergency room.

What to expect at the emergency room:

Some or all of the following procedures may be performed:

• Induce emesis. (For kerosene, this should be done only under a health care provider's supervision, to prevent anything from getting into the lungs while the patient is vomiting).
• Use gastric lavage.
• Administer activated charcoal.
• Administer a cathartic (bowel evacuator).
• Treat the symptoms.

Expectations (prognosis):

for kerosene: The amount of lung damage dictates the length of recovery time, if the patient survives the first 24 hours.

for carbon tetrachloride: Recovery may take up to a year or longer.

for ethylene dichloride: Recovery normally occurs if patient survives the first 48 hours after exposure to the toxin. Deaths, however, have occurred as late as 5 days after exposure.