MSD Manual

Please confirm that you are not located inside the Russian Federation

honeypot link

Hydrocarbon Poisoning

By

The Manual's Editorial Staff

Reviewed/Revised Dec 2023
VIEW PROFESSIONAL VERSION
Get the full details

Hydrocarbons are chemicals in glues, gasoline, paint and paint thinners, and kerosene.

What is hydrocarbon poisoning?

Hydrocarbon poisoning is sickness from swallowing or breathing in fumes from hydrocarbon products.

  • Most small children who swallow these products and are poisoned will recover

  • Teens and adults who breathe in fumes to get high (known as huffing, bagging, or sniffing) can die of cardiac arrest (when their heart stops beating) or have brain damage

  • Swallowing hydrocarbons can lead to irritation and then infection of the lungs

  • Severe poisoning affects your brain, heart, bone marrow, and kidneys

If you think you or someone else may have been poisoned, call for emergency medical assistance (911 in most areas of the United States) right away.

What are the symptoms of hydrocarbon poisoning?

  • Coughing

  • Choking

  • Fast breathing

  • A burning feeling in the stomach

  • Blue skin (due to low oxygen levels in the blood)

  • Sleepiness

  • Trouble breathing—it can take several hours for this to happen

  • Poor coordination (clumsiness)

  • Seizures (when your body moves or jerks out of your control)

  • Coma (when you’re unconscious and can’t be woken up)

How can doctors tell if I have hydrocarbon poisoning?

Doctors will suspect hydrocarbon poisoning based on your symptoms and a description of what happened. They may smell hydrocarbons or see marks from paint or oil on your body or clothes.

Doctors will:

How do doctors treat hydrocarbon poisoning?

Doctors will:

  • Have you take off any clothes that touched the hydrocarbon

  • Wash your skin well

  • Give you oxygen or, if severe, a ventilator if you have breathing problems

  • Care for you in the hospital until you recover

  • Give you medicine to prevent infection

NOTE: This is the Consumer Version. DOCTORS: VIEW PROFESSIONAL VERSION
VIEW PROFESSIONAL VERSION
quiz link

Test your knowledge

Take a Quiz! 
iOS ANDROID
iOS ANDROID
iOS ANDROID
TOP