There are more and more case reports that speak of children ingesting bleach: it is a very dangerous substance for our health and in our body it causes very serious damage in a few minutes.
Indeed, its composition is very acidic and therefore very corrosive. In the event of ingestion of caustic soda, the first thing to do is to try to reject it as quickly as possible, in order to prevent it from reaching the gastrointestinal walls.
Studies show that if a substance like caustic soda comes into contact with the gastric mucous membranes, mechanisms could be triggered which, within seconds, would cause a fulminant ulcer.
Symptoms after taking bleach are pretty clear: you may have a fever, severe intestinal pain, and heavy salivation. As already written a few lines ago, the very first thing to do is to try to throw away as much bleach as possible, also thanks to saliva. In the meantime, we should run to the emergency room to get the best possible treatment.
The doctors tell us that if you can’t talk, it’s best to take the bottle of bleach with you so the doctors can quickly figure out what it is and give us the right treatment. Usually it works through an antibiotic and at the same time diagnostic tests will be done to check for damage caused by the substance. If the surgery is done quickly, the pharynx and esophagus will likely have been affected, but not the intestine.
If, on the other hand, if you do not act in time, the bleach will infest the whole body in a few minutes, burning everything it encounters in its path, leading the unfortunate to certain death.
Obviously, the first mucous membranes affected by contact are those of the mouth, pharynx and larynx: this substance almost never causes curable lesions, because it is very acidic and therefore destroys and burns everything it touches. It only takes a few minutes, or even two, to create lethal damage to the body.
The only action the medical staff can take is to help us get the bleach back before it reaches our intestines and nothing else, unfortunately. The chronicle reports numerous cases of children ingesting bleach: for this reason, detergents should be kept high up and, as indicated on the label, out of reach of children.
The latter obviously do not know what is in the bottle and this makes them extremely vulnerable. But we adults should also be careful: it’s a good idea to wash our hands thoroughly after use so as not to risk if we touch our eyes or other sensitive parts.