In the context of the health crisis linked to COVID-19, ANSES and the network of Poison Control Centers are closely monitoring calls for a reason associated with COVID-19. This inventory aims to identify risk situations in order to issue recommendations and alert the public authorities.
Between March 1 and March 24, 2020, 337 calls related to exposure cases (with or without symptoms) or requests for information were identified as possibly associated with the COVID-19 context. Of the exposure cases (245 cases), 144 had symptoms and 101 did not.
Several origins of risk situations have been identified by poison control centres: cleaners/disinfectants, hydro-alcoholic solutions, essential oils and anti-inflammatories.
To prevent poisoning and accidents, ANSES and the poison control centers issue recommendations.
For cleaners and disinfectants
Several specific risk situations have been identified: inhalation of toxic vapour, accidental poisoning of young children following the transfer of household products (in a bottle, in a glass of water, etc.), cleaning food with bleach.
To avoid them:
- strictly respect the conditions of use of cleaning or disinfecting products (floors, surfaces of the home or workplace);
- do not mix cleaning or disinfectant products with each other, in particular bleach and descaler;
- for unpackaged products, very clearly mention the nature of the content (name of the product in felt-tip pen, color label, etc.) and keep these products out of the reach of children;
- keep all household products out of reach of children;
- do not use cleaning and disinfecting products for floors and surfaces for personal hygiene purposes;
- do not clean food with bleach or any other cleaner or disinfectant not intended to come into contact with foodstuffs.
For hydro-alcoholic solutions
Particular risk situations concern the accidental exposure of children who have hydro-alcoholic solutions or products used for the preparation of hydro-alcoholic solutions to do it yourself.
To avoid them:
- keep hydro-alcoholic solutions out of reach of children;
- for unpackaged products, very clearly mention the nature of the content (name of the product in felt-tip pen, color label, etc.) and keep these products out of the reach of children;
- for solutions to be made by yourself (“Do It Yourself”), strictly follow the official manufacturing instructions (WHO site) and keep the products resulting from this manufacture out of the reach of children.
Essential oils
Several specific risky circumstances have been identified: self-medication by using essential oils orally to “strengthen natural defences” and “fight against the coronavirus”, spraying essential oils to “sanitize an enclosed space” by a person at risk (asthmatic person), or inappropriate use to disinfect a surgical mask, for example.
ANSES recalls that essential oils are not a means of combating the coronavirus. It is important to respect the conditions of use of these oils (route of administration, dose, area of application, etc.). People with respiratory conditions (especially asthmatics) and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not use essential oils. Before any use, and if you have any questions about the use of essential oils, seek advice from a pharmacist.
Anti-inflammatory drugs
A strong need for information was noted around the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, bronchodilators and associated anti-inflammatory drugs, following information from the Ministry of Health mentioning that anti-inflammatory drugs could aggravate the signs of infections linked to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Good behaviors:
- do not stop an anti-inflammatory treatment prescribed for a chronic condition and take advice from your doctor. Abruptly stopping anti-inflammatory treatment can lead to a resurgence of symptoms of the chronic condition;
- apart from any chronic treatment, do not take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and favor taking paracetamol in case of fever, as recommended by the Ministry of Health.