Ellis J B, Krug A, Robertson J, Hay I T, MacIntyre U
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Medical University of Southern Africa, Pretoria.
S Afr Med J. 1994 Nov;84(11):727-30.
Paraffin ingestion is the commonest cause of accidental childhood poisoning in South Africa. Children from the lower socio-economic group are affected most. They drink paraffin in the summer months from bottles or intermediate containers, mistaking it for water or cold-drink. The children are predominantly male with a mean age of 24 months. The clinical picture is one of respiratory distress with a hospital case fatality rate of 0.74%. The use of paraffin as a source of household energy in South Africa is on the increase. Based on a modernisation index it would seem that this trend will continue into the next century. It can therefore be expected that the number of cases of paraffin ingestion will steadily increase if no active steps are taken to address the problem. Prevention should entail a wide spectrum of measures, the basis of which should be a child-resistant container. An effective durable, low-cost child-resistant container which is easy to pour from should be made available by petroleum companies and/or entrepreneurs and distributed through their network. This should be combined with health education on the danger of paraffin. Health care workers and administrators should be made more aware of the problem and become involved in health education and prevention. Further research should be undertaken on the effect a change in the colour of paraffin and the use of child-resistant caps would have on the incidence of paraffin ingestion in South Africa.
在南非，吞食石蜡是儿童意外中毒最常见的原因。社会经济地位较低群体的儿童受影响最大。他们在夏季从瓶子或中间容器中饮用石蜡，误以为是水或冷饮。这些儿童以男性为主，平均年龄为24个月。临床症状为呼吸窘迫，医院病死率为0.74%。在南非，将石蜡用作家庭能源的情况正在增加。根据现代化指数，这种趋势似乎将持续到下个世纪。因此，如果不采取积极措施解决这一问题，可以预计吞食石蜡的病例数量将稳步增加。预防应采取广泛的措施，其基础应是防儿童开启的容器。石油公司和/或企业家应提供一种有效、耐用、低成本且易于倾倒的防儿童开启容器，并通过其网络进行分发。这应与关于石蜡危险性的健康教育相结合。医护人员和管理人员应更加了解这一问题，并参与健康教育和预防工作。应进一步研究石蜡颜色变化和使用防儿童开启瓶盖对南非吞食石蜡发生率的影响。
