Mom mistakenly used 90 degree alcohol to clean her child's nose

Intending to use saline solution to rinse her child's nose, a mother in Hanoi mistakenly used a bottle of 90-degree alcohol.

A one-year-old boy (Dong Da, Hanoi) had a runny nose, so his family used a medical syringe to draw up saline solution and inject it directly into his nose to wash it. On the evening of August 17, due to carelessness, the mother mistakenly used a bottle of 90-degree alcohol to wash her son's nose.

After using the nose drops, the family noticed that the baby was unusually fussy and crying. They checked again and discovered that they had used the wrong alcohol. After rinsing the baby's nose many times with clean water, the baby continued to cough and fuss, so the parents took the baby to the pediatric department of Bach Mai Hospital for emergency treatment.

The two bottles of sodium chloride and 90 degree alcohol look quite similar and are easily confused.

The baby was admitted to the hospital with a runny nose, a lot of cough, red nose on both sides, wheezing..., and was diagnosed with pneumonia. Associate Professor Nguyen Tien Dung, former Head of the Department of Pediatrics, said that accidentally dropping alcohol into a child's nose is extremely dangerous. It can lead to burns due to irritation of the nasal mucosa; more seriously, if inhaled a lot, it can lead to alcohol poisoning and pneumonia.

Every year, the Pediatrics Department receives about 10 cases of children mistakenly using alcohol drops. The size, shape and label of the alcohol bottle are similar to the saline bottle. Therefore, Associate Professor Dung recommends that parents pay attention when using water to clean their children's noses.

If there is an accident, the family should take the child to the nearest medical facility. Do not attempt to treat the child at home because if not treated properly, the chemical will penetrate the body faster or cause dangerous complications.

According to VNE