The boy lit four mosquito coils and was "poisoned". Are mosquito coils so toxic?

Audit expert: Gu Haitong

Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University

The dog days just ended a few days ago, and it feels like the hot summer has passed. However, the "autumn tiger" mosquitoes that can avoid the high temperature and buzz when you fall asleep are still very present.

When people cannot catch mosquitoes, they often swear bitterly that they will never coexist with all mosquitoes in the world. Mosquito repellent artifacts such as mosquito coils, mosquito repellent sprays, electric mosquito swatters, and electric mosquito coils are all commonly used "weapons" to drive away these annoying little bugs.

However, just recently, a boy in Jiangsu suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning after lighting four mosquito coils while sleeping. He experienced symptoms such as fainting and foaming at the mouth.

Source: Weibo screenshot

How can this small mosquito coil harm people's lives? Do we really want to "die together" with mosquitoes? Today, let us understand the principle of mosquito coils, precautions and how to choose mosquito coils correctly.

Mosquito-repellent coils

Source: pixabay

1Why does mosquito coil cause poisoning?

If we want to know why mosquito coils cause poisoning, we first need to understand the ingredients of mosquito coils.

In my country, mosquito coils have a very long history. According to the "Gewu Cuotan" written in the Song Dynasty, there was a precedent of burning a mixture of realgar, angelica dahurica, etc. to repel mosquitoes during the Dragon Boat Festival. Realgar is an arsenic sulfide ore, which was a very common insecticide in ancient times.

Source: Material Life

The mosquito coils we use today are based on the same principle as in ancient times. They all mix insecticidal substances with flammable carriers to repel and kill mosquitoes through the smoke produced.

Commonly used incense coils have organophosphorus and pyrethroids as their main ingredients, which are somewhat toxic. Long-term exposure to these substances may be related to respiratory problems, eye irritation, allergic reactions, etc.

In addition, smoke pollutes the space environment, contaminates objects, and ignites potential fire hazards. Its carrier is wood chips and carbon powder. In the case of sufficient oxygen, they burn to produce carbon dioxide, which is harmless to the human body.

But in the hot summer, the air conditioner is usually turned on at home, and the doors and windows are closed. At this time, the oxygen content in the room will decrease due to human breathing and the burning of mosquito coils, so the combustion of wood chips and carbon powder as carriers of mosquito coils will produce carbon monoxide. After being inhaled by the human body, carbon monoxide will combine with hemoglobin in the body to form carboxyhemoglobin.

Carboxyhemoglobin has lost the function of exchanging oxygen and recycling carbon dioxide in the blood, and because carbon monoxide has a greater affinity with hemoglobin, when carbon monoxide is inhaled into the human body, the transport of oxygen and the output of carbon dioxide will be severely hindered, eventually leading to tissue hypoxia and the inability to discharge carbon dioxide in time, resulting in poisoning symptoms.

2Mosquito -repellent liquid is also dangerous

In addition to traditional mosquito coils, there are now mosquito coil liquids that can repel mosquitoes by simply plugging in a power source, without the need to ignite them.

But this kind of mosquito coil is also dangerous. The solvent is deodorized kerosene, which is a dangerous substance. Moreover, the bottle is difficult to seal and is prone to leakage. This summer, a one-year-old child was poisoned by swallowing mosquito coil liquid. When he was sent to the hospital, he had lost his consciousness and was convulsing violently.

In fact, the insecticide contained in liquid mosquito coils can cause organic solvent poisoning. If ingested accidentally, the human lungs will be seriously damaged, and fibrosis may even occur over time . If the dose is too large, it will also damage the central nervous system. There is no specific medicine for this type of poisoning, and it is difficult to treat.

On the CT scan, the doctor saw white lungs in the child's lungs, but fortunately, after more than 20 days of hospitalization, the child was out of danger.

3. Keep your eyes open and prevent the threat of mosquito coils

Small mosquito coils also have safety hazards. Today, let us learn how to prevent these hazards.

First of all, choosing the right mosquito coil is the most important thing. Look carefully at the packaging of the mosquito coil, check whether the packaging, label, instruction manual, etc. are complete, whether the writing is standard, and whether the font printing is clear. It is worth noting that regular mosquito coils will have a "slightly toxic" mark on the packaging, which is also one of the important criteria for judging whether the mosquito coil is safe.

If the product does not indicate the corresponding Chinese name and content of its active ingredients in the ingredient list of mosquito coils, you need to be cautious when buying. You also need to pay attention to the production date, shelf life, and whether its "three certificate" numbers are complete. The three certificate numbers refer to the pesticide registration certificate number, pesticide product standard number, and pesticide production license number.

Secondly, there are many things to pay attention to when using mosquito coils.

When using mosquito coils, it is best to choose a time when no one is indoors . At this time, you can close the doors and windows to enhance the mosquito repellent effect. However, after returning home, you must first open the doors and windows to ventilate the house so that the toxic gases in the house can be discharged.

Since it takes more than two hours for the concentration of the drug in the air to reach its effect, mosquito coils should be used 2 to 3 hours before going to bed. If you use mosquito coils during sleep, you should be careful not to close the doors and windows to allow air circulation to prevent the combustion of mosquito coils due to lack of oxygen, which will produce carbon monoxide and cause poisoning.

Be careful not to place lit mosquito coils near your head to prevent you from inhaling too much smoke.

Mosquito-repellent coils and mosquito-repellent liquid should be kept out of the reach of children to prevent them from accidentally ingesting them.

So, dear readers, it is possible to "die together" with mosquitoes. The invasion of mosquitoes is certainly annoying, but your own life and health are the most important.