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Seizure by ingestion of Camphor
Three weeks back my 18 month old son who was playing suddenly fell down. His eyes rolled back into head, jaws/fingers clenched and unconscious. There was no body jerks. This episode lasted about 7-8 minutes. After regaining conscious, he was went to sleep for minutes and was back to normal. About 30 minutes before this episode, he had put a camphor tablet in his mouth and started chewing it. My wife was able to remove a bit of tablet out, but he had swallowed most of part of the tablet by then.
No history of seizures in the family. My son hasn't had any problems until now except for colds and coughs.
EEG report came out normal. I had read on the internet about harmful effects due to ingestion of camphor, especially in children.
Could this seizure be because of camphor ingestion ? Is there any way to verify this ?
Thanks.
No history of seizures in the family. My son hasn't had any problems until now except for colds and coughs.
EEG report came out normal. I had read on the internet about harmful effects due to ingestion of camphor, especially in children.
Could this seizure be because of camphor ingestion ? Is there any way to verify this ?
Thanks.
The MSDA on the internet suggests that ingestion of camphor can cause seizures.
Among other things, camphor is a respiratory irritant and can cause layangospasms and bronchospasms. A normal person experiencing sudden loss of oxygen can experience a seizure.
It is problematical if there is permanant damage, but my guess is that there is not and your son will develop normally without additional seizures.
Among other things, camphor is a respiratory irritant and can cause layangospasms and bronchospasms. A normal person experiencing sudden loss of oxygen can experience a seizure.
It is problematical if there is permanant damage, but my guess is that there is not and your son will develop normally without additional seizures.
Thanks for your comments.
It wasn't mothballs that was ingested, but a solid camphor cube meant to be used as incense in religious ceremonies.
It wasn't mothballs that was ingested, but a solid camphor cube meant to be used as incense in religious ceremonies.
I presume what was ingested is what we commonly call "mothballs".
While decades ago these were manufactured from napthalene, due to issues of flammability modern mothballs utilize the chemical insecticide 1,4 - dichlorobenzene (C6H412).
Indeed, ingestion of this substance could precipitate a seizure. At this point, one can only guess. Since the ingestion is a known fact there is no point in ordering an expensive mass-gas spectrometer test forn the presence of a toxin.
The chances are there will be full recovery and no additional seizures, but keep monitoring the situation.
While decades ago these were manufactured from napthalene, due to issues of flammability modern mothballs utilize the chemical insecticide 1,4 - dichlorobenzene (C6H412).
Indeed, ingestion of this substance could precipitate a seizure. At this point, one can only guess. Since the ingestion is a known fact there is no point in ordering an expensive mass-gas spectrometer test forn the presence of a toxin.
The chances are there will be full recovery and no additional seizures, but keep monitoring the situation.
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