What immediate health effects can result from ethylene oxide exposure?
Most people are exposed to ethylene oxide by breathing the gas. Exposure to small amounts can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; and skin rash. More serious exposure can cause severe breathing difficulty, skin burns, weakness, twitching, convulsions, and coma. Generally, the more serious the exposure, the more severe the symptoms. Can ethylene oxide poisoning be treated? There is no antidote for ethylene oxide, but its effects can be treated, and most exposed persons get well. Persons who have had serious exposures may need to be hospitalized. Are any future health effects likely to occur? A single, small exposure from which a person quickly recovers is not likely to cause delayed or long-term effects. After a severe exposure, symptoms may not develop for 12 hours (see Follow-up Instructions). Ethylene oxide is suspected of causing cancer of the blood, and birth defects may occur in infants whose mothers were repeatedly and excessively exposed during pregnancy. What tests can be d
