Toxicity: Risk for toxicity will vary based on the amount ingested.
Expected symptoms: Minimal exposure can cause irritation to the mouth or throat, stomach upset and limited vomiting.
What to do: Wipe out the child’s mouth with a wet cloth or rinse the mouth. Give your child a drink of water to help get the taste out of the mouth. Contact the Missouri Poison Center immediately.
Note: If the spray has gotten into the eyes, call the Missouri Poison Center right away for additional instructions.
Quick Facts about glass cleaner:
Some cleaning products are blue or green and can resemble sports drinks. For this reason, they may be attractive to curious children, so it is important to keep them locked up and out of reach.
Glass cleaning products like Windex® contain solvents, surfactants, and ammonia to clean glass surfaces. Some products also contain fragrances and dyes. Small ingestions can cause minor mouth and throat irritation, stomach upset, and vomiting. Brief contact with the skin can cause minor redness and irritation. Airborne mist from the spray can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. Any inhaled droplets get caught in the back of the throat and are not expected to get deep into the lung fields, so significant symptoms such as difficulty breathing and wheezing are not expected.
If you notice that your child has swallowed a glass cleaning product, it is important not to panic. Most children will react to the taste, and may cough or gag. Take the product away from the child and wipe their mouth out with a soft wet cloth. You may give them some water to drink to get the taste out of their mouth. Do not try to induce vomiting.
After you have removed your child from the situation, immediately call the Missouri Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222. Treatment recommendations are often determined by the amount ingested. The poison center is open all day, every day for poisoning emergencies and questions and our team of medical professionals will help to walk you through the next steps.