Are eye drops poisonous

Answer 1

Some eye drops contain only sterile saline solution, which is not harmful if ingested. However, other eye drops can be hazardous if they are consumed. Ingesting eye drops that contain tetrahydrozoline can potentially be fatal, particularly to small children. "The active ingredient in Visine eye drops is Tetrahydrozoline HCl 0.05%. Swallowing this substance can result in a number of nasty effects, including: Lowering body temperature to dangerous levels Making breathing difficult, or even halting it entirely Blurring vision Causing nausea and vomiting Elevating and then dropping blood pressure Causing seizures or tremors Sending the ingester into a coma Pfizer's cautions to users of Visine include, 'If swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.' In view of the above list, that advice should not be taken lightly." Snopes Urban Legends Reference Pages http://www.snopes.com/toxins/visine.asp "A grocery chain has settled a lawsuit filed by a regular customer who said he was served a wheatgrass smoothie spiked with eye medication as a prank. Rudy Trabanino accused an employee of Whole Foods Market, an Austin-based seller of natural foods, of using a bottle of Visine to spike the smoothie. Trabanino said he became violently ill and was hospitalized for several days with acute pain and a variety of serious medical problems... William Brown, an attorney who represented Trabanino, said the poisoning could have been fatal for his client, who still suffers from headaches and other maladies." Texas News: Lawsuit over spiked smoothie settled http://www.texnews.com/texas97/spike092097.html "Visine eye drops with tetrahydrozoline is a commonly used medicine that does not have a child-resistant cap and can be deadly to small children if swallowed." Cleveland Clinic: Household Chemicals http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/3300/3352.asp?index=11396&src=news "The estimated fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline for children up to 2 years of age is 5 mg intranasally (Handbook of Poisoning, 12th Edition, 1987)... Each one fluid ounce bottle of Visine Eye Drops contains approximately 15 mg of tetrahydrozoline HCl." Grand Rapids Community College: Material Safety Data Sheet http://web.grcc.cc.mi.us/Pr/msds/fordfieldhouse/NATUROPATHIC%20LABORATORIES%20INTL%20-%20Nature's%20Chemist%20Pain%20Relief%20Ointment.pdf Ingredients found in prescription eye drops can also be dangerous if ingested. Eyedrops containing cyclopentolate have been implicated in several deaths in Mexico: "Half a dozen Mexico City prostitutes have been arrested for using eye drops containing a sleep-inducing drug to knock out and rob their clients, leaving at least five men dead, it has been reported. One district in the centre of the Mexican capital has recorded 17 cases this year of men being drugged with cyclopentolate - a muscle relaxant used in eye examinations to dilate the pupil and blur vision - and then robbed... Mixing eye drops - which are not meant to be swallowed - with alcohol can create a fatal mixture for someone with heart problems, medical experts say." Sydney Morning Herald: Robbed blind with eye drops http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/robbed-blind-with-eye-drops/2005/10/04/1128191719604.html