What happens if you drink vinegar? What to do if a child drinks vinegar? Poisoning with table vinegar and acetic acid, help.

Vinegar (acetic essence or acid) is stored in the kitchen of almost every housewife. It is used in households for pickling, canning, baking or as a cleaning agent. In this case, the concentration of the solution depends on the scope of its use.

Poisoning with vinegar essence can occur due to careless handling of the substance or occur intentionally (for example, taking vinegar for the purpose of suicide). This condition poses a serious danger to human health; the pathological process can result in dire consequences, including death.

This article will examine in detail whether it is possible to be poisoned by vinegar, what symptoms appear, and how this condition can end.

How does vinegar affect the body?

When consumed internally, acetic essence (acid) has both local and general resorptive effects.

local exposure provokes chemical burns of the mucous surface of the digestive tract, their swelling and inflammation;
the general resorptive effect is associated with the ability of acetic acid to be quickly absorbed into the blood, which causes hemolysis (disintegration) of red blood cells. This leads to the formation of hematin hydrochloride crystals in the acidic renal environment, clogging the renal tubules. All this provokes the development of serious kidney diseases.

Hemolysis of red blood cells also leads to disruption of the blood coagulation system. In fact, when poisoning with vinegar, a burn disease develops.

Is death possible?

A 9% concentration of table vinegar in a small amount will not cause serious harm. But large dosages and use of a solution of 30% or more can lead to serious consequences. In some cases, even lethal escape is possible.

The following complications are fatal in case of acetic acid poisoning:

active effect of the substance on tissue, causing the development of painful shock;
loss of large amounts of fluid and internal bleeding;
violation of the acidic environment in the body;
dysfunction of the renal system;
abnormalities in liver function caused by blockage of blood vessels;
damage to vital systems and organs.

Severity of poisoning

Vinegar poisoning can have varying degrees of severity. It all depends on the amount of dangerous substance that enters the body.

Experts distinguish 3 degrees of severity of vinegar intoxication:

light– develops when consuming 15-40 ml of vinegar solution;
average– occurs after taking 40-70 ml of the substance;
heavy– occurs after about 70-250 ml enters the body. acetic acid.

Symptoms of poisoning

Symptoms of vinegar poisoning are conventionally divided into two groups:

initial;
resorptive.

Initial signs include:

numerous chemical burns of the mucous surface of the oral cavity, larynx, and digestive tract;
acute pain in the oral cavity, in the retrosternal area and epigastrium;
repeated vomiting;
the presence of blood in the vomit;
severe abdominal pain associated with irritation of the peritoneum;
wheezing (stridor) breathing, accompanied by noise;
swelling of the larynx;
hoarseness of voice;
excessive salivation;
dyspnea;
pungent (unpleasant, chemical) odor from the mouth;
red urine.

Resorptive signs of poisoning begin to develop some time later, when the dangerous substance is absorbed into the bloodstream. These symptoms include:

development of acute nephrosis (kidney disease);
azotemia (increased levels of nitrogenous products in the blood);
anuria (lack of urine flow into the bladder);
hepatopathy (liver damage);
disruption of the hemostasis system.

First aid

Acetic acid poisoning is a pathological process that disrupts the functioning of all internal organs. To prevent dangerous consequences, it is important to provide timely assistance to the victim.

Let's consider what needs to be done if symptoms of vinegar poisoning are detected:

You should rinse your mouth with clean water (room temperature). This water should not be swallowed; it must be spat out.
You can put ice on the abdominal area. Cold slows down the absorption of acid into the blood plasma from the gastric mucosa. Or you should suggest that the patient chew 2-3 pieces of ice.
In case of severe pain, it is allowed to use Almagel A, which contains anesthesin.
It is strictly forbidden to wash the stomach using the “restaurant” method or give the poisoned person drugs to induce vomiting.
Under no circumstances should you take a soda solution orally, as soda and acetic acid will cause a chemical reaction with the formation of large amounts of carbon dioxide. This will cause the stomach to expand and injure the digestive tract.

Features of treatment

Vinegar poisoning cannot be treated at home! It can lead to burn injuries and serious complications. Calling an ambulance is a necessary condition for maintaining the health of a poisoned person. In a hospital setting, the necessary treatment method will be selected taking into account the clinical picture of the disease.

First of all, medical workers take the following measures:

Rinse the stomach through a tube using saline solution.
Painkillers are administered intravenously to eliminate severe pain. For example: Caver, Ketorolac, Promedol.
Antiemetics are used: Ositron, Cerucal, Metoclopromide.
Plasma or plasma-substituting solutions are administered intravenously.
Corticosteroids are used to prevent the development of severe shock. This could be: Dexamethasone, Prednisolone.
To replenish the volume of lost fluid and relieve symptoms of intoxication, solutions such as Disol, Trisol are administered intravenously.
For laryngeal edema, hormonal irrigation or tracheotomy is used.

Also additionally carried out:

hormone therapy;
physiotherapy;
correction of progressive deviations;
prevention of complications.

Possible consequences

1-3 hours after vinegar enters the body, 10% of those poisoned develop acute perforations (the integrity of the esophagus and stomach is compromised).

The following consequences may develop later:

gastrointestinal bleeding;
the antrum of the stomach and esophagus narrows due to rough scarring of burn sites;
pneumonia (aspiration);
chronic renal failure;
suppuration of burn injuries;
purulent inflammation of the trachea or bronchi;
chronic gastritis;
inflammation of the esophagus;
exhaustion of the body and weight loss;
disturbance of acid-base balance and protein metabolism.

The prognosis of poisoning with a vinegar solution depends on the quality of care provided, the amount of the substance taken, as well as on the changes that have occurred in the body.

The most life-threatening period is the initial period of poisoning - the first day after vinegar enters the body, when death is possible due to exotoxic shock or peritonitis.

Prevention measures

To prevent vinegar intoxication, you must follow a number of safety rules:

If possible, do not keep (store) solutions of vinegar essence at home. It is best to immediately after purchase dilute the vinegar with water (in a ratio of 1:20) or buy ready-made table vinegar;
It is imperative to store the vinegar solution out of the reach of children, for example, on the top shelves of a kitchen cabinet;
When using vinegar solution in the process of pickling or canning food, you should strictly adhere to the recommended dosage.

If vinegar enters the body in large quantities, it poses a serious threat to human life and health. Poisoning from vinegar vapors is also dangerous. Such a pathological process can result in numerous burn injuries to the respiratory and digestive organs, as well as disrupt the functioning of the entire body. Therefore, self-medication for this type of poisoning is unacceptable! Consult a doctor – don’t make the situation worse!

Vinegar is an acid that has a very wide range of uses. It is actively used in cooking, industry, chemical and pharmaceutical production.

There are several varieties of vinegar; The most famous are apple, wine and table vinegar. The first two are natural products, and the table one is of synthetic origin. The acid has a specific odor. Poisoning most often occurs when using concentrated table vinegar - vinegar essence. The consequences of such poisoning are very serious and sometimes irreversible.

Treatment for vinegar poisoning is very long and painful for the patient, so you should be extremely careful when handling vinegar essence.

Nine percent table vinegar, used in small quantities, cannot cause any harm. However, if you accidentally or intentionally drink approximately 200 ml of it, it can be fatal. The lethal dosage of 70 and 80% essence is about 30 ml.

Unfortunately, there are cases where vinegar is used for suicide. In this case, death occurs in agony, since the victim develops a chemical burn of the esophagus and stomach.

Vinegar taken orally is very quickly absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body. All symptoms of vinegar poisoning can be divided into resorptive and local.

Local symptoms include the destructive effect of acid on tissue upon direct contact.

Resorptive (general) - destruction of blood cells, primarily red blood cells, and changes in its acidity; pain shock; malnutrition of vital organs; development of acute renal failure and intravascular coagulation syndrome (DIC).

As a result of poisoning, a burn disease begins, so emergency medical care is needed to help save the patient’s life and prevent the destruction of internal organs and tissues.

Clinical picture of vinegar poisoning

Most often, poisoning occurs completely accidentally, and not only when ingesting vinegar, but also when inhaling acetic acid vapors. You should familiarize yourself with the clinical picture that accompanies this circumstance.

Stages of development of poisoning with vinegar and its vapors:

acute;
stage of toxemia;
stage of complications (inflammatory or infectious);
recovery stage.

Video

The main signs of vinegar intoxication:

sharp, severe pain in the mouth, stomach and esophagus;
the presence of confusion and shock;
strong psychomotor agitation;
violation of the swallowing process;
repeated vomiting with blood;
tachycardia;
black stool (melena);
severe abdominal pain (peritonitis develops);
heavy, noisy breathing due to swelling of the larynx;
urine is red, “lacquered”;
diuresis decreases sharply, kidney failure develops;
the voice becomes hoarse due to swelling of the ligaments;
presence of a strong vinegar odor from the mouth.

As acetic acid spreads through the bloodstream throughout the body, all organs are affected. Hepatopathy, acute nephrosis develop, and the hemostasis system is disrupted.

After stabilizing the victim’s condition, he remains in a state of asthenia for a long time, exhaustion of the body’s strength due to tissue hypoxia, deficiency of proteins and microelements.

During the recovery period, chemical burns become scarred. In this case, deformation of the esophagus and stomach develops. Signs of dysfunction of internal organs persist.

First aid for vinegar poisoning

As with any chemical poisoning, in this case urgent and emergency medical care and treatment are important. First of all, it is necessary to eliminate and also neutralize acetic acid that has entered the human body.

First aid in this situation is minimal:

urgently call an ambulance;
let the patient rinse his mouth with cool water, which he should spit out, not swallow;
give Almagel A (a tablespoon) for pain relief, if you have this medicine at home.

It is impossible to rinse the victim’s stomach using home methods, so as not to cause injury to the burned esophagus.

Quite often, in order to neutralize the aggressiveness of the acid, they try to use a solution of baking soda. Under no circumstances should this be done! When a chemical reaction begins in this case, carbon dioxide is released abundantly, which stretches the burned stomach, causing additional pain.

Further assistance to the victim is provided by doctors.

The drug Atropine

In the hospital, a tube gastric lavage is performed, for which at least ten to fifteen liters of water are used.

The next step is pain relief with injections of narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics. To relieve spasm of smooth muscles, atropine and other antispasmodics are administered.

For the purpose of detoxification, massive infusion therapy and forced diuresis are carried out.

Hemodialysis is performed according to indications; tracheostomy followed by mechanical ventilation.

Thus, therapy for such poisoning is quite long and complex. But at the end of treatment, patients in most cases develop complications in the form of scar changes in internal organs, chronic renal failure, and post-burn asthenia.

Conclusion

To prevent vinegar poisoning - an extremely serious condition - you need to follow safety rules when handling vinegar essence. It is best not to store such a dangerous substance at home, but immediately after purchase, dilute it with water to the concentration of table vinegar.

If the essence is still present in the house, it should be in a place inaccessible to children. Use this product for culinary or other purposes with extreme caution.

Probably everyone has vinegar essence. Vinegar is mainly used for food purposes when added to preparations and marinades. However, vinegar often becomes the culprit of poisoning.
Acetic essence is acetic acid diluted with water. The concentration of vinegar depends on how much the acid is diluted with water. In any case, the concentration is sufficient to cause poisoning to the human body.

More often, poisoning with vinegar essence occurs in children. Parents forget to put the vinegar in the far corner, and small children always want to taste everything. Adults can get poisoned with acetic acid for the purpose of committing suicide, but sometimes there are accidental situations in which a person gets poisoned.

The effect of vinegar on the body during poisoning

Taking 9% vinegar will not cause any harm. However, if you use vinegar essence in a concentration several times higher, and also do not maintain the volume, this will lead to irreversible consequences.

The peculiarity of vinegar essence is that vinegar is not only capable of affecting vital organs in a short time, but also quickly absorbed into the mucous membranes, penetrating into the blood. Due to the blood flow, the acid spreads throughout the body in a short time. Due to this, vinegar essence has a high toxic effect.

Due to this influence, the following processes occur:

Painful shock, loss of fluid and blood loss.
Impaired liver and kidney function due to blockage of blood vessels.
Breakdown of blood cells.
Damage to many organs due to lack of nutrition.

Symptoms and stages of vinegar poisoning

There are several stages to vinegar poisoning:

Stage of acute symptoms.
Poisoning of the body.
The occurrence of complications.
Asthenia.
Stage.

When acetic acid is consumed, a chemical reaction occurs and all mucous membranes and organs succumb to burns. Tissue necrosis appears in these areas. Due to the possible destruction of the mucous membranes, there is a large loss of fluid and blood. Due to this, severe pain syndrome appears.

Burns occur on the mucous membranes as the vinegar enters. First they appear on the mucous membrane of the lips, pharynx, and then descend lower. Since vinegar causes a severe chemical burn, there is often bleeding in these areas. Due to a burn of the gastric mucosa, it occurs. When acid vapors are exhaled during vomiting and then inhaled, a burn occurs in the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract.

Due to such a burn, shortness of breath, swelling of the bronchi and lungs appears. When examining the patient, characteristic symptoms indicating this poisoning are:

Burns around the mouth and on mucous membranes.
Smell of vinegar.
Pain on palpation of the abdomen.
Vomiting blood.
Dyspnea.

In case of acetic acid vapor poisoning, the symptoms will be similar. With such symptoms of poisoning, the following complications often occur:

Pain shock.
Hypovolemic shock.
Hemorrhagic shock.

These complications significantly bring the death rate closer. At this moment, the patient's consciousness is impaired, the skin becomes pale and cold, and blood pressure drops sharply. The vinegar continues to spread throughout the body and the symptoms of poisoning intensify. The breakdown of red blood cells and other cells occurs in the body, which impairs blood clotting. The broken hemoglobin closes the renal tubules, which disrupts the functioning of the kidneys and urine production is significantly reduced. Due to lack of nutrition of organs and tissues, the functioning of vital organs is disrupted. Disruption of the central nervous system, liver, kidneys and brain leads to an accelerated death outcome.

The lungs also suffer, mainly tracheobronchitis and pneumonia occur. Serious disturbances in the functioning of the brain often cause psychosis in humans. At the stage of asthenia, symptoms of exhaustion appear, which is caused by a lack of microelements in the body. Manifestations also occur during the recovery stage of the body after vinegar poisoning. Rough scars appear at the site of burns. This mainly affects the condition of the esophagus and stomach. When scars appear, the functioning of these organs is often disrupted.

First aid for vinegar poisoning

Treatment of a patient poisoned by vinegar essence is carried out in a hospital, and sometimes in the intensive care unit. However, since this is serious poisoning, first aid should be provided before the patient arrives at the hospital. The main thing in providing assistance is gastric lavage and proper pain relief. First you need to thoroughly rinse your mouth without swallowing water. Gastric lavage cannot be carried out, as with other types of poisoning (that is, induce vomiting). With such washing, the acid will burn the mucous membranes, which will aggravate the patient’s condition.

Complete rinsing can take up to two hours after acetic acid gets inside. Rinsing must be done using a thick probe lubricated with Vaseline.
Do not rinse the stomach with baking soda and water. When soda and vinegar combine, a quenching process occurs, resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide. In the stomach, carbon dioxide will stretch the damaged areas of the stomach, which will lead to bleeding.

Rinsing requires about 15 liters of clean cold water. Rinse, as a rule, to clean wash water. The presence of blood is not a contraindication for the procedure. The manipulation is performed while lying on your side.

In addition to gastric lavage, pain relief with the use of antispasmodics is required. Pain relief is carried out using narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics. Atropine is often used with antispasmodic drugs. To relieve symptoms of poisoning, infusion therapy with the addition of hormonal drugs is performed.

After 6 hours, providing assistance no longer makes sense. At this moment, swelling of the larynx occurs and it simply cannot be accomplished.

Diagnostics

To make a correct diagnosis, the doctor collects anamnesis and conducts an examination. The diagnosis is established based on the following criteria:

External signs, smell of vinegar.
Character of washing waters.
Laboratory research.

For laboratory tests, a general urine test, a general and biochemical blood test are taken.

The urine is characterized by the appearance of protein and hemoglobin, and the urine may have a red tint.
When poisoning with vinegar in the blood, you can detect a change in cells and their number, free hemoglobin appears.
In a biochemical blood test, changes are observed in an increase in the concentration of urea, uric acid and the appearance of markers indicating damage to the liver and kidneys.

Based on an external examination and laboratory results, an experienced doctor can easily establish the correct diagnosis.

Treatment

After providing first aid, the patient must be taken to a hospital, where he will receive proper treatment. First of all, therapeutic measures are aimed at eliminating inflammation and relieving pain. The patient is prescribed antibiotics, analgesics and a number of other drugs.

The following measures are aimed at treating poisoning:

The use of diuretics to increase urine volume and accelerate the elimination of toxins.
Infusion therapy with sodium chloride restores the acid-base balance.
Refortam and stabizol are used to eliminate burns.
A solution of novocaine is administered intravenously.
Antispasmodics are prescribed, most often papaverine.
Antibiotics are used to prevent relapses.
To avoid hemorrhages, blood plasma transfusions are used.

Since rough scars form after burns, surgical intervention may be required. The bougienage method is used. It is rarely used when the patient's condition is very severe and he cannot eat due to a burn of the esophagus. The operation is carried out no earlier than three weeks after the burn.

Diet is also used. However, the duration of the diet after vinegar poisoning may vary, as can its menu. Most often, the diet remains for the rest of your life.

Prevention and recovery

Basically, preventive measures are necessary for people who have children, because their poisoning occurs completely accidentally. In children, a burn to the esophagus can lead to irreversible consequences, so the following must be done:

Store acetic essence and other acids out of the reach of children.
Do not add more vinegar to food.
If the vinegar is expired, it should be thrown away.
To avoid burns to the respiratory tract, the room should be ventilated.
If you have gastrointestinal diseases, avoid drinking vinegar.
It is advisable to write the name of the acid on the bottle in large letters so that no one can confuse it.

With severe vinegar poisoning, many people die, if not immediately, then within the first month of life after poisoning. Another part of people remain disabled for the rest of their lives.

Thus, acetic acid is a rather dangerous product. It is necessary to use vinegar even in food with caution, since even consumption in food can cause a burn.

Vinegar poisoning is a type of chemical burn that causes serious consequences for the body. Vinegar is used in the food industry, pharmaceutical production, as well as in canning and home cooking.

How does poisoning occur?

Acetic acid has a sharp, unpleasant odor and a burning taste. Currently, there are several types of acid: vinegar essence, table and food vinegar made from natural raw materials (for example, apple cider vinegar).

Most often, table vinegar is used in everyday life - in which the concentration of the main substance does not exceed 9%. Acid poisoning is classified as a chemical burn, and the method of entry into the body of the dangerous substance does not matter.

A burn is caused by drinking a large volume of table vinegar solution or a small dose of 70 percent acetic acid.

Vinegar mainly enters the body through the mouth, burning the mucous membrane, upper respiratory tract and esophagus. The consequences of an overdose can be very sad.

What leads to death:

Severe pain syndrome.
Internal bleeding.
Tissue necrosis.
Development of renal failure.

Depending on the amount of acid taken, poisoning can be of several types.

Severity of toxemia:

With a mild level of intoxication, only the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and larynx are affected. The esophagus and other internal organs remain unharmed.
The average degree of poisoning is characterized by a burn of the digestive system, the urine takes on a light pink tint.
Severe poisoning is mainly caused by 70% acetic acid. The victim begins to vomit, has difficulty breathing, severe pain appears in the chest and abdomen, and the urine becomes bright red. When poisoned by vinegar vapors, the organs of the respiratory system are primarily affected.

Vinegar poisoning: symptoms

Signs of vinegar poisoning are similar to chemical intoxication.

Symptoms:

Burns of the oral cavity.
Vomiting blood.
Vinegar vapors cause tearing and sneezing.
Chest pain.
Spasmodic pain in the abdomen.
Severe shortness of breath.

The timeliness of first aid provided to the victim determines his further condition and the speed of recovery.

First aid for poisoning

Vinegar poisoning mainly occurs due to the carelessness of adults and children. Children often mistake bottles with an apple on the label for lemonade and drink the contents. Apple cider vinegar is less dangerous than essence, but in large quantities it can also cause serious poisoning. What to do if someone close to you is poisoned by vinegar? First of all, you need to call an ambulance, and before the doctors arrive, try to provide first aid in case of poisoning.

First aid steps:

Gastric lavage. The digestive organs are cleansed of remnants of a dangerous substance through a probe so that the acid does not burn the esophagus again on its way back.
It is forbidden to lavage the stomach with soda solution. As a result of the interaction of acetic acid and soda, carbon dioxide is released, which can injure the walls of the esophagus and cause internal bleeding.
Acetic acid poisoning is always accompanied by severe pain. Any analgesic can be used for pain relief.

Timely provision of primary care will help avoid serious complications, and in some cases, death.

When is medical attention required?

A chemical burn from drinking vinegar requires urgent hospitalization. Children who have drunk any amount of acetic acid or inhaled its vapors must be treated in a hospital under the supervision of doctors.

Treatment of intoxication:

Elimination of chemical residues from the digestive organs.
Reducing the concentration of acid in the blood.
Regeneration of water and electrolyte balance in the body.
Intravenous administration of painkillers.
In case of severe burns of the larynx, the patient is fed through a tube or IV.

As with any poisoning, after intoxication with vinegar, a special diet is required.

What you are allowed to eat:

Soups with second broth.
Porridge on the water.
Boiled potatoes, rice, pasta.
Lean meats: chicken fillet, turkey, veal.
Steam omelette.
Fermented milk products with reduced fat content.

In case of poisoning, it is forbidden to eat spicy, fried and salty foods, carbonated and alcoholic drinks, citrus fruits, chocolate, honey.

After a severe chemical burn, large scars form on the victim’s digestive organs. To eliminate them, bougienage is used - a treatment method in which special tubes of different diameters are inserted into the esophagus.

Possible consequences and prevention

The consequences of vinegar poisoning are very serious. It is impossible to completely restore the esophagus after a chemical burn; even numerous operations cannot remove all the scars from the walls of the digestive tract.

Types of complications.

Kidney failure.
Bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
Suppuration of areas affected by acid.
Swelling of the airways caused by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx.
Problems eating for a long time.

The first day of the disease is considered the most dangerous - the victim may die from anaphylactic shock. The prognosis generally depends on the timeliness of first aid provided and the amount of acid consumed.

Prevention

Preventing acetic acid poisoning is quite simple - for this you need to take certain precautions.

Prevention of poisoning:

Keep vinegar out of the reach of children.
If possible, purchase table vinegar, avoiding the use of vinegar essence in everyday life.
When preparing at home, use acid according to the recipe.
After using acetic acid, it is necessary to ventilate the room.

Vinegar is a dangerous chemical that poses a threat to human life. If acid poisoning occurs by accident, immediate measures must be taken to provide first aid to the victim. Further treatment of intoxication should be carried out in a hospital under the supervision of doctors.

Video: what will happen if you drink 0.5 vinegar

Vinegar (acetic acid, acetic essence, ethanoic acid) is often used in production, at home, and in cooking, but it poses a great danger when it enters the human body in pure form or in high concentrations. Acetic acid poisoning is rare, but has irreversible health consequences.

According to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD 10), acetic acid poisoning corresponds to code T54.2 “Toxic effects of caustic acids and acid-like substances.”

Causes

Vinegar is produced from alcohol raw materials with the help of acetic acid bacteria; it can be both natural and synthetic. In cooking, table vinegar is usually used - a solution of 6 or 9 percent. But you can purchase 70, 80% essence, from which you can independently create a product of the required concentration. It is added to marinades, used in baking, and also used in everyday life to clean various surfaces, dissolve rust, and eliminate unpleasant odors and stains on clothes.

The following main causes of acetic acid poisoning can be identified:

Carelessness. Children may spill or taste a dangerous liquid out of curiosity if the product comes across their path. Even an adult can confuse and ingest a dangerous substance with water;
You can also get poisoned by acetic acid vapors; it is especially dangerous to inhale concentrated vapors of pure essence, as they cause a chemical burn to the respiratory tract. Violation of safety rules when using acetic acid can be cited as the cause of such poisoning. This may be its excessive use when cleaning/cleaning or inhalation of essence vapors when diluting it yourself. In such cases, you can also easily get poisoned or burn your skin;
Failure to comply with safety regulations in chemical production facilities using ethanoic acid;
Eating pickled foods with excessive amounts of vinegar or highly fermented grape juice with a high content of acetic acid;
Intentional ingestion of vinegar for the purpose of suicide, etc. This death is long and painful, and sometimes instead of it another result is obtained - salvation and disability.

Symptoms

The clinical picture of the disease depends on the amount and concentration of acetic acid that has penetrated into the body. Just 3 teaspoons of acid can cause death. In case of poisoning with a solution of vinegar essence, the lethal dose will be 200 ml.

When poisoned with acetic acid, the victim feels the following signs:

severe sharp pain in the stomach, mouth, esophagus;
vomiting and diarrhea mixed with blood;
burn shock;
vinegary breath and sour taste;
difficulty breathing and swallowing;
disturbance of consciousness;
swelling of the mucous membranes.

Vinegar poisoning also causes the following phenomena:

liver and kidney damage;
jaundice;
hemolysis (destruction) of red blood cells with bleeding disorders;
blood thickening;
swallowing dysfunction;
development of metabolic acidosis (disturbance of acid-base balance in the body);
redness of urine;
hemoglobinuria;
severe burns of the mucous membranes of the mouth, esophagus and stomach, the occurrence of ulcers.

What are the symptoms of acetic acid vapor poisoning:

cough;
runny nose;
lacrimation;
pain in the chest area;
headache;
nausea.

If the body is severely damaged by acetic acid, there is a high probability of painful death occurring within the first 24 hours. There are many causes of death. This may be painful shock, vascular damage, disturbances in vital organs, peritonitis, large losses of water or blood.

First aid

In case of acetic acid poisoning, the victim needs emergency medical care; its timeliness will help minimize many negative consequences. The first step is to call an ambulance.

First aid for acetic acid poisoning at home may include the following:

Lay the victim on his side so that he does not choke on vomit. Do not induce vomiting on your own, so as not to burn the esophagus again;
If the patient is conscious, rinse your mouth with water and take Almagel;
You can drink some sunflower or sea buckthorn oil to slow down the absorption of toxins, and swallow a few pieces of ice for pain relief. These actions will help neutralize acetic acid and relieve pain for the patient. You can also drink rice water, a mixture of water and milk, or egg white and water as an antidote or antidote. Under no circumstances should you take soda orally, because... a well-known chemical reaction will follow; the sharply released gas can even rupture the already damaged stomach and the patient will die.

In case of mild poisoning, timely and correctly provided assistance, the patient’s condition will quickly improve and one can avoid health consequences.

Treatment

After poisoning with vinegar in its pure form, treatment must take place in a hospital. Treatment largely depends on the clinical picture of the disease.

It is necessary to perform gastric lavage using a special probe. Then analgesics are given to relieve pain or a solution of glucose and novocaine is administered intravenously and further symptomatic drug treatment is carried out for the poisoned person. Damage to the gastrointestinal tract is diagnosed using fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FGDS).

The body recovers very slowly and requires a number of measures, which are prescribed by the doctor if necessary:

reducing blood acidity through diuresis;
antibiotic therapy to avoid infection;
taking medications to cleanse the body in case of poisoning and hormonal medications to avoid narrowing of the esophagus;
if acidosis develops, sodium bicarbonate is used;
hemodialysis for renal failure;
tracheostomy and artificial ventilation for severe laryngeal edema;
Toxic coagulopathy may require plasma transfusion;
vitamin therapy;
taking blood products, protein hydrolysates.

As for nutrition, in severe cases of the disease, nutrients for the body are introduced, bypassing the damaged gastrointestinal tract.

In case of poisoning by acid fumes, oils are instilled into the nose and anti-inflammatory drugs (Erespal) are taken.

Complications and consequences

High severity of poisoning and intoxication with vinegar essence leads to possible complications and consequences:

severe burns of the digestive and respiratory systems;
bleeding into the cavity of the esophagus, its rupture;
cicatricial changes in the esophagus and stomach, narrowing of the esophagus;
dehydration;
blood loss;
infectious complications;
severe damage to internal organs;
renal failure;
swelling and inflammation of the lungs;
chronic inflammation of the walls of the stomach and esophagus;
development of oncology;
weight loss;
tracheobronchitis;
pulmonitis;
of death.

Prevention

To avoid chemical poisoning with vinegar, you need to follow the recommendations:

store acetic acid at home out of reach of children;
do not drink unknown liquids in order to taste them;
do not store the essence at home; after purchasing this product, immediately dilute it in the required proportions;
observe safety precautions when working with acetic acid (use personal protective equipment);
in cooking, do not exceed the recommended dosage of the product.

Thus, vinegar is a rather dangerous liquid. Direct contact of the human digestive system with it leads, if not to death, then to disability in most cases.