EUCALYPTUS OIL POISONING AMONG YOUNG-CHILDREN - MECHANISMS OF ACCESS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR PREVENTION

We studied unintentional paediatric eucalyptus oil poisoning to identi fy potential intervention strategies. The epidemiology of paediatric e ucalyptus oil poisoning in Victoria tvas determined by analysis of fou r databases. The sequence of events preceding ingestion was examined b y a telephone survey involving 109 parents or guardians of children un der five years involved in an actual or suspected ingestion of eucalyp tus oil. Such children were identified prospectively from all callers during a nine-month period to the Victorian Poisons Information Centre and those presenting to the emergency departments of the participatin g hospitals of the Victorian Injury Surveillance System. Eucalyptus oi l was a leading agent associated with hospitalisation for poisoning am ong Victorian children aged under five years. In the telephone survey, 90 incidents were found to involve vaporiser solutions, 15 eucalyptus oil preparations, and the remainder other eucalyptus-oil-containing p roducts of a medicinal nature. Regardless of the type of product, 74 p er cent gained access via a home vaporiser unit, most frequently place d at ground level. Although amounts ingested are usually small, the re ported range of toxic doses is nide, necessitating at least a medical assessment following ingestion. Potential countermeasures identified i n a consultative workshop included: discontinuing the use of eucalyptu s oil as a therapeutic agent; confirmation that vaporiser-well residue s are nontoxic; removal of barriers to product reregistration followin g safety-related modifications; improved child-resistant closures; dis couraging vaporiser-use for respiratory infections among young childre n; and development and dissemination of protocols for treatment of sus pected ingestion.