A one-year-old boy coughed and turned blue after drinking the wrong bottle of scented oil used to light a lamp.
On November 9, Doctor 2 Nguyen Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the City Children’s Hospital, said that a child patient living in Tay Ninh was transferred with difficulty breathing, cyanosis, and severe chest indrawing. The child’s heart rate increased to 180-200 times/minute, instead of about 80-130 as usual. X-rays showed diffuse lung damage causing severe respiratory failure.
Chest X-ray of the patient revealed diffuse lung damage in both right lung fields. Image: Hospital provided
Doctors intubated the patient to help with breathing, antibiotics, intravenous fluids, electrolyte adjustment, sedation, and muscle relaxation. The baby had a gastric tube placed to drain the remaining chemicals in the digestive tract out. After a week of treatment, the baby’s condition gradually improved, weaned off the ventilator and became alert.
Family members said that after opening the bottle of aromatherapy oil to light the lamp, they forgot to close the lid and did not store the bottle carefully, causing the child to drink it by mistake.
Doctors recommend that parents keep drugs and chemicals out of reach of children or store them in locked cabinets to avoid children accessing them, causing unfortunate consequences.