When your child has gulped kerosene, the way out

Dina, 7, started school recently but when at home, she helps her 3 year old brother, Ken.

Recently, Ken woke up, calling her sister from a sleep, shouting in Kiswahili, “dada nataka maji,’’ meaning sister I want some water.

The sister was fast asleep and never wanted to be bothered. But, later she woke up, grabbed from a cupboard a bottle half filled with water. She gave it to Ken to drink.

As he drank, he coughed repeatedy and began crying. It was during day time. Their mother heard the noise and had to intervene.

Ken has started breathing with difficulty. Just in a moment, the mother discovered that Ken had drank kerosene instead of water. His sister mistook the bottle of kerosene with that of water. In most Tanzanians homes, kerosene which is commonly used as lamp fuel.

However, in many homes, kerosene is still used in developing countries for cooking and lighting. Globally, an estimated 500 million households still use this fuel, particularly, for lighting.

This makes accidental ingestion of kerosene, particularly in children a common incident.

The problem is exacerbated by improper kerosene storage whereby putting kerosene in commonly known soft-drink bottles and without child proof caps, putting kerosene in unlabelled bottles and storing it where children can reach.

In addition to that, other risk factors for kerosene ingestion include age by which young children have relatively undeveloped senses of taste and smell and may mistake kerosene for familiar drinks, such as water and some sodas.

Other factors attributed are such as poverty and living in rural area which lead to use of kerosene as source of fuel as it is cheap easy to obtain and affordable.

These are the Dos and Don’ts if a child ingests kerosene;

Immediately move the child to the fresh air and ensure he/she can breathe and airway is open (this is always the first priority).

If kerosene has spilled on the cloth or skin, remove contaminated clothing and thoroughly wash the skin with soap and water.

Don’t induce vomiting to the child; it will increase risk of aspiration and lung damage. The fatality of kerosene ingestion is not due of kerosene ingestion itself, because it is poorly absorbed but as a result of aspiration of kerosene (kerosene enters to the lungs).

Don’t give anything to drink or eat, this include milk or water.

Take the child to the healthcare centre immediately.

Quite often, children in our homes find themselves in the risk of being involved in such domestic accidents. The most important thing is to know how to prevent these incidents from happening and making infomed health choices.

Cheers!