eli5: On the packaging of toilet cleaner and an article on mouthwash says that if ingested, do not induce vomitting, why is this? Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of as much of the harmful liquid as possible? What harm can happen if vomitting is induced?
In: 1821
WD40 stands for water displacement formula 40.
It is a common lubricant and rust remover that repels rust by repelling oxygen.
If ingested, it can be a mild irritant or in some cases even fatal.
If enough of it sits in your stomach, it will become aerosolized and start entering your lungs. If your lungs fill up with oxygen repelling vapors, you will suffocate.
But if you don’t have enough in your stomach to harm you, it is only a mild irritant.
If you have enough in your stomach to irritate you and induce vomiting unnecessarily, some of that vomit can get into your lungs. It is possible that this contamination from a non lethal amount of WD 40 could kill you if you induce vomiting.
This is on example of why some chemicals are more safe in your stomach than they are to induce vomiting to remove. This is my favorite example because it can go either way depending on the exposure level.
If a chemical is unsafe to digest but significantly more risky to induce vomiting, or if you just can’t allow any of the chemical to remain, hospitals can pump out the stomach while they flush it out with neutralizing fluids.
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