Oral ingestion of potassium permanganate or aluminum acetate in two patients.

Accidental ingestion of medication intended for topical use occurred in two patients. A patient hospitalized for psoriasis mistakenly swallowed potassium permanganate tablets intended for use in her bathwater. Another patient ingested tablets intended to prepare Burow's solution for topical treatment of his wound infection. These types of accidental ingestion of medicine intended for topical use are, fortunately, uncommon and do not usually lead to complications. However, the current trend to unit dosing, especially in tablet form, may result in the more frequent occurrence of such accidents.