A common reaction many people have when a child ingests something potentially harmful is to make them throw up. Our parents did it and it seems like a natural instinct, but inducing vomiting is not always the best course of action. Historically, we would make children vomit with syrup of ipecac (SOI). The idea was that emptying the stomach of potential poisons would save their life.

However, back in 1997, the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology published a position statement against routinely making children vomit with SOI. In 2003, the American Academy of Pediatrics followed with a similar recommendation because using SOI did not make a difference in the child’s health and eventual outcome. The use of emetics (a fancy word for products that make one puke) has pretty much been abandoned by doctors, pharmacists and nurses. Production of SOI was stopped in 2010 and it was removed from the market

Despite this, IPC call center staff receive hundreds of calls every year from parents and caregivers who have either made their children vomit by putting fingers deep down their child’s throat or asking if they should make the child vomit via the finger method, salt or baking soda, or raw eggs.

We get it, the rationale for inducing vomiting seems logically sound: If someone swallowed something potentially toxic, just bring it right back up and out to remove the toxin. In practice, however, it does not work this way. Inducing vomiting does not remove a large amount of toxin and often does not help make people better. Instead, it can actually do more harm than good.

Here’s the scoop on why inducing vomiting is not helpful and may be harmful:

• It delays being seen by healthcare provider: People forced to vomit may still need to be seen by a healthcare provider. The time spent trying to make a person vomit can lead to delays in time to be evaluated by a health care provider. For some substances, products or medications, time is of the essence, especially if the substance or amount ingested is life-threatening. 

• There’s potential for additional damage: If someone ingests a corrosive chemical (e.g. drain cleaner or oven cleaner) the immediate reaction might be to “bring it back up.” Unfortunately, that will cause additional harm. A caustic substance will burn the esophagus on the way down and it will burn on the way back up, which can actually worsen the injury, causing additional damage to the throat and mouth.

• It could cause aspiration and lung injury: Aspiration occurs when the substance itself or vomit is inhaled into the lungs. Inducing vomiting poses a risk of the substance entering the lungs as it comes up the esophagus. Certain substances have an increased risk of aspiration. 
  • Some petroleum distillates called hydrocarbons can cause severe injury if inhaled into the lungs. Products like charcoal lighter fluid and tiki torch fuel are examples of these light hydrocarbons. They can be aspirated on the way down, and if they come back up, the risk of aspiration increases tremendously. These products can cause severe lung damage and if the damage is bad enough, can be fatal. Making a child vomit in this circumstance can be deadly.
  • People also can aspirate if they vomit after ingesting a substance that could make them drowsy, unconscious or have seizures. Vomiting under these conditions is life-threatening. Your parents or grandparents may remember that musicians Jimi Hendrix or John Bonham both aspirated on vomit and died while impaired from drug intoxication.
  • Aspiration can lead to serious respiratory complications, like pneumonia, acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome.

• Side effects from making people vomit can occur as well:
  • Injury to the mouth or throat can occur with overly rough fingers, sharp fingernails or use of a foreign body (e.g. the end of a toothbrush) used to make people vomit.
  • Using home remedies like salt or baking soda can be toxic in small children. Too much salt or baking soda can raise the sodium concentration in the blood to very high levels and interfere with cellular and organ function, including the brain. Severely elevated sodium levels can be fatal.

While inducing vomiting may seem like a logical go-to response to a potential poisoning, it is not a good idea. IPC gets about 30,000 cases in children ages 5 and under every year and almost 95% of cases can be managed without much intervention as the amount involved was not enough to cause toxicity.  The other 5% of cases need to be seen at the hospital or by a healthcare provider. If you suspect that someone ingested a potentially harmful substance, please do not induce vomiting. Instead, call the IPC at 1-800-222-1222 to speak to one of our pharmacists, nurses or other poison information specialists. The call is free, confidential and we are available for your calls 24/7/365!