Nicotine Poisoning in Children

Nicotine poisoning occurs mostly due to consumption or exposure of skin to nicotine and almost never by smoking. Such poisoning cases require immediate medical attention along with an immediate stoppage to nicotine exposure.

Occurence and Symptoms
Symptoms of nicotine poisoning become visible soon after exposure. If exposure stops immediately after symptoms are seen, the poisoning does not get more severe and usually does not necessitate treatment as well, although this must not be generalised to all cases. Also, almost all cases of poisoning can be treated completely with no long lasting effects on the body.

Below mentioned are some common symptoms of poisoning by nicotine.

In mild cases of poisoning:

If nicotine exposure continues after appearance of symptoms, they get more severe:

In acute poisoning cases:

Diagnosis
Symptoms of poisoning by nicotine are similar to symptoms of other diseases and almost identical to those of nerve agent or organophosphate poisoning. If such symptoms are present in an individual, urine and blood tests are done to verify the presence of nicotine or cotinine, which is the metabolised form of nicotine, and to rule out other possibilities.

Treatment
The very first thing to be done when poisoning is suspected is to call the poison control centre. The individual must not be forced to vomit, in case of poisoning by ingestion, if not so instructed by a doctor. In the case of poisoning by exposure to the skin, the exposed skin must be washed with soap under water for fifteen minutes.
Medical treatment for poisoning includes activated charcoal and gastric lavage or a washing of the insides of the stomach.
Timely treatment can completely cure even acute poisoning without any long lasting effects on the body.

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