Exposure

[bigbenski]

Can exposure to Ethylene Glycol Monbutyl Ether for a 2 hour period cause Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and Vestibular Neuronitis?

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

I responded in the other identical posting.

~•~ Dr. Parks

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

[bigbenski]

I was working in a poorly ventilated classroom in file cabinet. The product was "Write off" and it had spilled out of the bottle in the back of the top drawer. I was working in the second drawer. After putting together a make-up packet for a student that was absent for the past 3 months, with copies of the chapters, worksheets, assignments, and tests and quizzes, I went to my desk to check my e-mails and I got a dizzy spell that lasted about 5 sec., it went away. I drank some water and about 30 sec. later I had a second dizzy spell lasting again about 5 sec. I got scared, was going to call 911, or my wife, but for some reason I decided to go outside for some fresh air. I did and no further spells occured so I decided to dive home. I went home with the windows open and it took me about 10 min to get home. I went into the house, tried to call my Dr. but could not make out the numbers, tried to get the operator to call his number and she would not. I sat down on the couch and about 10 minutes later I went nuts. the room was spinning to the left and I felt like I was falling to the right. I could not stand up, so I closed my eyes and waited for my wife to get home. Five minutes later she did and called 911. They took me to the hospital. At the time I did not know what caused the dizzy spells and the Dr, and hospital said I had vertigo caused by a virus. But I had no cold, cough, or illness. When I went back to school and several weeks later when I opened the drawer to the file cabinet, the fumes hit me and I knew that it was caused by that cleaning product. Now the Self-Employed Workmans Comp. rejects my claim.  What do you think?   Last test I took I had a near-total (86%) unilateral weakness in the right ear.  Thanks for your thoughts.      Mr. Binkowski

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Hello,

Before I respond to your question, can you tell me a little more about how your exposure occurred?

1. Was the ethylene glycol monobutyl ether the only substance that you were exposed to?
2. Were you in well ventilated space? or poorly ventilated?
3. Do you know how concentrated the substance was?
4. Did you experience symptoms while you were presumably exposed?
5. When did you begin to have symptoms of vertigo? How long after the exposure?
6. Do you have any other symptoms or any other medical problems?

~•~ Dr. Parks
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal health care provider for further evaluation of your individual case.