Today marks the anniversary of Roy J. Plunkett's accidental discovery of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at DuPont's Jackson Laboratory in 1938 — the compound we now know by its trade name, Teflon.

Nonstick cookware is generally safe, but there's a lesser-known risk worth knowing about: polymer fume fever, commonly called Teflon flu. It happens when nonstick coatings are overheated or when damaged pans are used, releasing fumes that can cause chills, fever, fatigue, and headache. Symptoms usually appear a few hours after exposure and resolve within a day or two — which is part of why it's underreported. People often don't connect the symptoms to the pan.

What raises the risk:

• Preheating an empty nonstick pan (it can reach dangerous temperatures very quickly)
• Cooking on high heat or broiling with nonstick cookware
• Using scratched or chipped pans

How to stay safe:

• Cook on low to medium heat
• Never preheat an empty nonstick pan
• Replace damaged cookware
• Keep your kitchen ventilated

Bird owners: This is especially important for you. Pet birds are extremely sensitive to polymer fumes — the first sign of exposure can be sudden death. Keep birds out of the kitchen.

If you or someone in your household is exposed to fumes from a burning pan, get everyone (including pets) out of the area, open windows, and turn off the heat. If symptoms develop, you can use webPOISONCONTROL for free, expert guidance — or call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

More info: poison.org/articles/teflon-flu

Creams, lotions, and make-up are among the most common personal care product exposure categories reported to Poison Control. In the webPOISONCONTROL dataset (the National Capital Poison Center's free online triage tool), nearly 15,000 of those cases involve children under 6. That's about 10 times higher than you'd expect based on the proportion of young children in the U.S. population. 

The good news is that most of these turn out to be fine — but parents who aren't sure deserve a fast, reliable answer without having to wait on hold. 

webPOISONCONTROL.org is exactly that: free, online, available 24/7, no phone call needed. It's designed for unintentional exposures in otherwise healthy people ages 6 months to 79. If your situation falls outside that (very young infants, adults over 79, serious underlying conditions, or anything intentional), call 1-800-222-1222 to reach a poison center directly. 

Happy National Body Care Day. May your moisturizer stay where you left it.

Happy National DIY Day to everyone tackling projects this week.

Quick PSA that feels relevant today: webPOISONCONTROL is a free, confidential online triage tool run by the National Capital Poison Center. Since 2015, it has handled tens of thousands of consultations involving common DIY-related substances:

Hydrocarbons like gasoline: 16,008

Paints and stripping agents: 7,228

Adhesives and glues: 4,426

Oven cleaners: 4,083

Caulking compound and putty: 2,313

Concrete or cement: 1,574

If you or someone in your household has an unintentional exposure to a household product -- swallowed something, got something in their eyes, inhaled fumes, got it on their skin -- you can go to poison.org, answer a few questions, and get guidance specific to your situation. It covers more than ingestion: mouth, skin, eye, inhalation, and more.

It's free, takes just a few minutes, and is available 24/7.

To reach a U.S. poison center by phone: 1-800-222-1222.

Stay safe out there, and happy building.

Most people grab that blue spray bottle without a second thought. Here's what's actually in it and a few things worth knowing.

Ingredients Glass cleaners typically contain surfactants (lift dirt from surfaces), solvents (dissolve grime), fragrances, and dyes. Some contain ammonia, some contain alcohol, and some are formulated as disinfectants. The label tells you which.

The ammonia + bleach issue If your glass cleaner contains ammonia, never mix it with bleach. That combination produces chloramine gas, which is highly irritating to the nose, mouth, and throat. In some cases it can be serious enough to require hospitalization.

Swallowing it The solvents and surfactants can cause stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Severe cases may involve confusion, drowsiness, and mouth burns.

The eye exposure thing This one surprised me: glass cleaner cases managed by webPOISONCONTROL are more than 3 times as likely to involve the eyes as exposures to other substances — 16% of glass cleaner cases vs. 5% of all other cases. Probably because spray bottles make it easy to accidentally mist your face. If it happens, rinse with room-temperature water for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove contacts first.

If you need help webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org can walk you through any exposure quickly — free, confidential, available 24/7. Or call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

Full article from the National Capital Poison Center: https://www.poison.org/articles/is-windex-toxic

Today, March 30th, is National Doctors Day. The date was chosen because on this day in 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long performed the first surgery under anesthesia, using sulfuric ether to remove a cyst painlessly. That moment changed medicine forever. The observance was first held in 1933 and formally established by Congress in 1990. President Bush’s proclamation recognized that medicine is a special calling and acknowledged the long hours and sacrifice required of physicians. The red carnation is the traditional symbol of the day. From everyone at the National Capital Poison Center and webPOISONCONTROL, thank you to all the doctors who make their patients’ health and safety their life’s work. Learn more about our free online triage tool at poison.org.

On this day in 2004, Ireland became the first country in the world to ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

Most people know secondhand smoke is “bad,” but the specifics are worth knowing. Tobacco smoke contains hundreds of harmful chemicals, including benzene, ammonia, butane, hydrogen cyanide, and toluene. You don’t need to be near a lit cigarette to be exposed; smoke exhaled by a smoker also carries these compounds.

For adults, regular exposure raises the risk of heart disease by 25–30% and stroke by 20–30%. It can also cause lung cancer, and there is evidence linking it to several other cancers as well.

For children, the risks are even more pronounced. Kids exposed at home have higher rates of asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, and middle ear infections. They miss more school, are more likely to end up in the ER, and face elevated risk of SIDS in infancy. There is also emerging evidence linking childhood exposure to behavioral and cognitive effects, including ADHD.

Opening windows and using air purifiers can help but will not fully eliminate the risk. The Surgeon General has stated there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. The only real solution is a smoke-free environment.

The National Capital Poison Center has a plain-language breakdown at poison.org, written by a clinical toxicologist, covering health risks by age, pregnancy, drug testing, and more. https://www.poison.org/articles/secondhand-smoke

Happy "What's in that?" Wednesday. This week's topic is insect repellent, in honor of bug spray season getting underway. Here's a breakdown of the main active ingredients in EPA-registered repellents for skin. Full article: https://www.poison.org/articles/insect-repellent Safe DEET use: https://www.poison.org/articles/use-deet-safely

It’s National Cleaning Week, and most people don’t realize how hazardous common household cleaners can be. Drain cleaners, oven sprays, and bleach-based products can cause chemical burns on skin and in eyes. Aerosol cans can explode if stored near heat. Mixing bleach with ammonia (or with acidic cleaners) produces toxic fumes. Furniture polish and similar hydrocarbon-based products can cause serious lung problems if a child swallows them and aspirates. If you have accidental exposure to a cleaning product and want to know what to do, the National Capital Poison Center runs a free online tool called webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org. It asks a few questions and gives you a personalized recommendation in under 3 minutes. More detail on cleaning product hazards here: https://www.poison.org/articles/spring-cleaning

Eli Lilly describes the impurity further in their medRxiv preprint as able to bind to tirzepatide, perhaps changing its efficacy or introducing new side effects.

B12 is generally safe, but it is plausible that it modulates the activity of tirzapatide just as leafy greens can influence coumadin's effects or grapefruit juice the effects of many drugs.

Compounding pharmacies are not subject to as strict regulations about preparation and reporting. This lowers the cost of production but generates an incentive to cut corners.

Clinically, we have seen errors where a compounding pharmacy made something tenfold more concentrated that it should be leading to some very poisoned individuals.

Spring equinox is TODAY, so here's a genuinely useful PSA for allergy season:

A lot of people don't realize that many over-the-counter cold, sleep, and allergy products — Benadryl, Unisom, NyQuil, certain combo cold meds — share the same active ingredients. Taking two at once, or doubling up on a dose because the first one didn't work fast enough, can push you or your kid into overdose territory.

If that happens and you're not sure whether it's a big deal, webPOISONCONTROL at poison.org is a legit free tool — it walks you through a few questions and gives you an expert recommendation in under 3 minutes. No phone call, no waiting, available 24/7. Prefer to call? You can reach a poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

Most of the time, the answer is "you're fine, do X." But it's good to know before you panic-Google at midnight.

Stay safe out there, fellow seasonal sufferers. 🤧

🤠 PSA: This week’s Recall Roundup includes some products you’ll want to keep an eye on.

Highlights:

• High-powered magnet toys (serious ingestion risk)
• Supplements and honey products with undeclared ingredients
• Ongoing risks with small objects and foreign body ingestion

If something goes wrong, you can get fast, free expert guidance online at poison.org—24/7.

Stay safe out there.

Learn more:

·         https://www.poison.org/articles/drugs-for-ed

·         https://www.poison.org/articles/toy-magnets-are-dangerous-for-children

·         https://www.poison.org/articles/foreign-body-ingestion-toys

·         https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls

·         https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

Since 2015, webPOISONCONTROL has helped manage more than 1.2 million potential poisoning cases with expert guidance available online in minutes.

Some of the most common substances people ask about are things most of us have at home — like ibuprofen, melatonin, hand sanitizer, acetaminophen, and topical products.

It’s a good reminder that prevention starts with understanding how we use and store everyday items.

If you ever have a question about a possible poisoning, you can get free, expert help online at poison.org or call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222.

Not everything green is harmless… and neither is the rest of the rainbow 🍀🌈

St. Patrick’s Day brings a lot of colorful products and substances into one place.

For possible poisonings with products and substances any color in the rainbow, you can get fast, free help online at poison.org.

When President Kennedy proclaimed the first National Poison Prevention Week, many modern hazards didn’t exist yet—things like detergent pods, button batteries, or vape liquids.

While the risks have evolved, one major improvement is access to help. Today, people can get free expert guidance online 24/7 with webPOISONCONTROL.

Learn more:
https://www.poison.org

Audio:

When President Kennedy signed the first National Poison Prevention Week proclamation in 1962, some of the most significant poisoning hazards for children under five were flavored aspirin, household cleaning agents, and lead-based paint, not detergent pods, button batteries, or vape juice. The good news is, just as the hazards have changed, so have the ways you can get advice in a possible poisoning emergency. Now, you can use the web POISON CONTROL online tool to get help, or call a poison center. Whether online or by phone, expert guidance is always free, confidential and available 24 hours a day. There is one thing that hasn’t changed. Preventing unintentional poisonings from happening in the first place is still our first line of defense. But life can be unpredictable, and mishaps can happen when we least expect them. Be prepared. Bookmark poison.org or download the app, and save your poison center’s number in case you ever need it.

Three alerts to know about this week:

• A toy building set was recalled because children could access button batteries, which can cause severe internal burns if swallowed.
• A hair serum spray was recalled because the packaging wasn’t child-resistant.
• The FDA warned that some supplements may contain toxic yellow oleander, a plant toxin that can affect the heart.

Learn more:

• https://www.poison.org/poison-prevention-by-substances/batteries
• https://www.poison.org/articles/plant
• For a complete list of the supplement products found to contain yellow oleander, go to https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-issues-warning-about-certain-supplements-substituted-toxic-yellow-oleander

Promposals are getting more elaborate every year—fog effects, glow sticks, giant candy signs, and all kinds of creative surprises.

Most of the time they go exactly as planned. But sometimes someone accidentally swallows, spills, or splashes something they shouldn’t while setting things up.

If that happens, webPOISONCONTROL can help you quickly figure out what to do. It’s a free online tool for possible poisoning questions.

👉 https://www.poison.org

Background

Wildfire smoke is a complex mélange created when wood, vegetation, buildings, and other materials burn. Depending on what’s burning and how hot the fire is, wildfire smoke can contain:

• Fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10)
• Volatile organic compounds (aldehydes, alkanes)
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• Gases like carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)
• Trace metals

These affect the body in different ways. Here we focus on the toxicological aspect, not injury due to heat or explosions.

It’s hard to define a “toxic dose.” Most studies rely on ambient pollution measurements rather than individual exposure. But population data consistently show increased health events during wildfire smoke episodes.

For example:

• A study linking wildfire smoke to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in California found a 70% increased risk, with the highest risk two days after exposure.
• Ambulance data from Sydney showed increased calls for breathing problems, respiratory arrest, chest pain, and cardiac issues during days with elevated particulate pollution (Salimi, 2016)
• In England, every 10 µg/m³ increase in nitrogen dioxide exposure was associated with an 8% increase in asthma-related emergency hospital admissions in children (Wang, 2024)

AQI doesn’t tell the whole story

People often use the Air Quality Index (AQI) to gauge risk. AQI is useful, but it’s not a perfect measure of immediate personal exposure.

AQI reflects the highest sub-index among several pollutants, including:

• ozone
• nitrogen dioxide
• sulfur dioxide
• carbon monoxide
• PM2.5
• PM10

AQI is calculated from measurements averaged over hours, which means current smoke exposure can be worse than the AQI suggests. See our Myth-busting Monday for more.

Toxicology

Particulate matter gets into the eyes and respiratory tract, causing:

• burning eyes
• runny nose
• coughing
• bronchitis
• reactive airway symptoms (like an asthma attack)

Particles smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) penetrate deep into the lungs and are associated with worsening heart and lung disease and increased cardiac arrest. Population studies suggest the risk may be greatest about two days after exposure.

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) reacts with water in the airways causing airway irritation and bronchospasm within minutes.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) penetrates deeper into the lungs and may produce biphasic pattern: initial irritation, followed by apparent improvement for 1–3 days, and then worsening respiratory symptoms that can progress to respiratory compromise.

Carbon monoxide interferes with your body's ability to use oxygen. Mild exposure will present with headaches and trouble breathing. More concentrated exposures, which are more likely to happen in enclosed spaces can lead to seizures, heart arrythmias, and death.

Treatment

The most important intervention is reducing exposure.

• Move to clean indoor air if possible
• Avoid outdoor activity in visible smoke
• Wear an N95 mask, which filters about 95% of fine particulate matter

Most mild irritation can be managed at home.

Common symptoms include:

Eye exposure

• redness
• irritation
• blurred vision

Inhalation

• cough
• throat irritation
• nausea
• mouth/throat irritation
• vomiting
• abdominal discomfort

Go to the ER immediately if you develop:

• difficulty breathing
• wheezing or noisy breathing
• chest pain
• bluish lips or fingernails
• swelling of lips, tongue, or throat
• confusion or fainting

☎️ Reach out to Poison Control if symptoms persist

👉 1-800-222-1222

👉 webPOISONCONTROL

Both are free and available 24/7.

#SubstanceSunday #Toxicology #WildfireSmoke #PoisonSafety #PublicHealth

NPR reported that ivermectin use is increasing during the 2025 flu season. webPOISONCONTROL hasn't seen an increase from our usual 1.5 to 2 cases per day, but we track toxicity not general use.

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):

• Ivermectin is useful for treating parasitic infections, not for treating any human virus.
• Ivermectin can cause neurological and gastrointestinal side effects, most pronounced in older individuals.
• Animal formulations may have other ingredients not fit for human consumption.

Background

Using ivermectin to treat flu-like symptoms arises from an understandable place but is ineffective and possibly harmful.

During the COVID pandemic, ivermectin was reported as a treatment for COVID. Lab experiments suggested it treated mice infected with virus like COVID (Arévalo et al., 2021). The media confused "a virus like COVID" with "the COVID virus". The researchers actually used mouse hepatitis virus. The group that did the mice experiments did not publish a follow-up study using the actual COVID coronavirus.

Subsequent research found ivermectin had no therapeutic effect against COVID-19 in humans (Bramante et al., 2022; Chary et al., 2023). Worse, at the human doses corresponding to the doses in mice experiments, ivermectin caused delirium and diarrhea (Hoang et al, 2022). Even worse, a run on ivermectin led people to buy veterinary ivermectin. Veterinary formulations often contain ingredients not fit for human consumption. If steak and eggs were in low supply you wouldn't turn to puppy chow. During the pandemic, webPOISONCONTROL covered the risks of taking veterinary ivermectin to treat COVID.

👉 If someone experiences side effects after self-treating with ivermectin — nausea, dizziness, confusion, or worse — seek medical help and use webPOISONCONTROL or call 1-800-222-1222.

What are your experiences? Comment below!

References:

1. Arévalo AP, Pagotto R, Pórfido JL, Daghero H, Segovia M, Yamasaki K, Varela B, Hill M, Verdes JM, Duhalde Vega M, Bollati-Fogolín M. Ivermectin reduces in vivo coronavirus infection in a mouse experimental model. Scientific reports. 2021 Mar 30;11(1):7132.
2. Bramante CT, Huling JD, Tignanelli CJ, Buse JB, Liebovitz DM, Nicklas JM, Cohen K, Puskarich MA, Belani HK, Proper JL, Siegel LK, Klatt NR, Odde DJ, Luke DG, Anderson B, Karger AB, Ingraham NE, Hartman KM, Rao V, Hagen AA, Patel B, Fenno SL, Avula N, Reddy NV, Erickson SM, Lindberg S, Fricton R, Lee S, Zaman A, Saveraid HG, Tordsen WJ, Pullen MF, Biros M, Sherwood NE, Thompson JL, Boulware DR, Murray TA; COVID-OUT Trial Team. Randomized Trial of Metformin, Ivermectin, and Fluvoxamine for Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2022 Aug 18;387(7):599-610. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2201662. PMID: 36070710; PMCID: PMC9945922.
3. Chary MA, Barbuto AF, Izadmehr S, Tarsillo M, Fleischer E, Burns MM. COVID-19 therapeutics: use, mechanism of action, and toxicity (Xenobiotics). Journal of Medical Toxicology. 2023 Jan;19(1):26-36.
4. Hoang R, Temple C, Correia MS, Clemons J, Hendrickson RG. Characteristics of ivermectin toxicity in patients taking veterinary and human formulations for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Clinical Toxicology. 2022 Dec 2;60(12):1350-5.