Eucalyptus oil poisoning: two case reports

BACKGROUND: Eucalyptus oil poisoning is rare in adults but is not that uncommon in children. The common side effects in children include depression in the level of consciousness, ataxia, seizures, and vomiting. Unlike in children, seizures are unusual in adult patients with eucalyptus oil poisoning. We report the cases of two patients with eucalyptus oil poisoning, both adults who unintentionally took eucalyptus oil and presented to the emergency room of our institution with seizures. CASE PRESENTATION: Two adult Indian men who unintentionally consumed eucalyptus oil presented to the emergency room of our institution with seizures. In both patients, arterial blood gas analysis showed the presence of severe metabolic acidosis. Both the patients were managed in the intensive care unit and received standard supportive care. Metabolic acidosis was corrected with intravenous bicarbonate infusion. They were successfully discharged on the fourth day. CONCLUSIONS: All physicians should be aware of the toxic effects of eucalyptus oil, which is used often in daily life in India. Supportive care in an intensive care unit, including rapid correction of metabolic acidosis and adequate maintenance of hemodynamic parameters, will lead to a rapid recovery. Warning labels should be made mandatory on all products that contain eucalyptus oil.