2-year-old child in Ho Chi Minh City accidentally drank drain cleaner powder, burned entire mouth

On the evening of May 7, a representative of Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC) said that recently, doctors here have received emergency treatment for many cases of children having dangerous household accidents.

Among them, there was the case of TK (2 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) who was taken to the hospital by his family before the April 30 holiday, due to accidentally drinking drain cleaner powder 3 hours before going to the emergency room.

At the time of admission, the child had a fever, burns all over his mouth, was unable to eat or drink, and showed signs of infection with high inflammation indicators. Doctors administered intravenous fluids, used drugs to protect and heal the mucosa, drugs to reduce gastric acid secretion, and antibiotics to control the infection.

The child also underwent an esophagogastroduodenoscopy to assess the damage, the results showed a second-degree esophageal burn. Immediately after, the patient was placed with a gastric tube under endoscopic guidance for feeding. After a week of active treatment, the child was able to eat again and was discharged from the hospital.

Children's Hospital 2, HCMC (Photo: Hoang Le).

According to statistics from the Gastroenterology Department of Children’s Hospital 2, each year the unit receives 250-300 cases related to ingested foreign bodies and accidental ingestion of chemicals. In the first quarter of this year alone, 26 cases were successfully treated.

Doctors warn that when children accidentally drink chemicals, parents need to quickly take them to the nearest medical center. Absolutely do not arbitrarily apply the following 5 initial treatment measures, because it can make the child's condition worse:

First, do not induce vomiting. Second, do not use neutralizers. Third, do not use diluents. Fourth, do not use activated charcoal. Fifth, do not place a blind nasogastric tube in the child (only place under endoscopic guidance).

In addition to the above case, recently, the Gastroenterology Department of Children's Hospital 2 successfully performed an endoscopy to remove a large fish bone, saving a boy from critical condition.

Previously, NTN (5 years old, living in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) was fed rice with basa fish by his father. Although the family had removed the fish bones, there were still pieces of fin bones left, and the child swallowed them. After discovering the incident, the family took N. to the local hospital, then transferred to a higher level hospital.

At Children's Hospital 2, the doctor ordered an X-ray and CT scan, which determined that the foreign object was stuck in the esophagus, causing inflammation and edema. The child underwent emergency endoscopy to remove the foreign object and was discharged after 2 days of treatment.

The foreign object is a piece of fish bone removed from the boy's body (Photo: Hospital).

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, most cases of ingested foreign bodies are eliminated by the body and do not require intervention. However, 10-20% of cases still require endoscopy and 1% of cases require surgery to remove the foreign body.

Choking on foreign objects in children is very dangerous, especially sharp or corrosive objects, which can easily lead to complications such as perforation, intestinal obstruction, etc. When swallowing foreign objects, children may experience symptoms such as vomiting, vomiting blood, neck pain, painful swallowing, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, etc. At this time, the child needs to be examined immediately.

Doctors recommend that parents pay close attention to their children, especially during the upcoming summer vacation. Because when children are active and curious to explore, dangerous digestive accidents can happen at any time.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/chau-be-2-tuoi-o-tphcm-uong-nham-bot-thong-cong-bong-toan-bo-khoang-mieng-20250507233254355.htm