Face powder poisoning

The ingredients in face powder that can be harmful are:

• Baking soda
• Talcum powder
• Many other types of powder

Face powder contains these ingredients.

Symptoms of face powder poisoning include:

• Abdominal pain
• Blurred vision
• Breathing difficulty
• Burning pain in the throat
• Burns to the eye, redness and tearing (if substance gets in the eye)
• Diarrhea (watery, bloody)
• Rash
• Vomiting

Seek medical help right away. Do not make the person throw up unless poison control or a health care provider tells you to.

If the person swallowed face powder, give them water or milk right away, unless a provider tells you not to. Do not give anything to drink if the person has symptoms that make it hard to swallow. These include vomiting, convulsions, or a decreased level of alertness.

If the person breathed in the powder, move them to fresh air right away.

Have this information ready:

• Person's age, weight, and condition
• Name of the product (ingredients, if known)
• Time it was swallowed or inhaled
• Amount swallowed or inhaled

The local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can also get online poison help now at Poisonhelp.org. Just enter the product, poison, or medicine to get expert help.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

Your provider will measure and monitor your vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. Symptoms will be treated.

Tests that may be done include:

• Blood and urine tests
• Bronchoscopy -- camera placed down the throat to look for burns in the airways and lungs.
• Chest x-ray
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)

Treatment may include:

• Breathing support, including tube through the mouth into the lungs and connected to a breathing machine (ventilator)
• Fluids through a vein (by IV)
• Laxatives
• Medicine to treat symptoms
• Surgery to remove burned skin (debridement)
• Tube through the mouth into the stomach to wash out the stomach (gastric lavage)
• Washing of the skin (irrigation), every few hours or for several days

If the poisoning is severe, the person may be admitted to the hospital.

How well someone does depends on how much face powder they swallowed and how quickly they receive treatment. The faster medical help is given, the better the chance for recovery.

Face powders are not very poisonous, so recovery is likely.

Kuschner WG, Blanc PD. Acute responses to toxic exposures. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray & Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 103.

Meehan TJ. Care of the poisoned patient. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 135.

Nelson LS, Calello DP. Acute poisoning. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 96.

Theobald JL, Corcoran JN. Poisoning. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 94.

Updated by: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.