Hair Dye poisoning: "An early intervention"

The use of hair dye has been emerging worldwide however usage of Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) in making hair dye is generally restricted to underdeveloped and developing countries. In particular, prevalence of accidental and suicidal ingestion is more in low socioeconomic areas. The spectra of hair dye toxicity is wide, however, it presents more commonly with severe angioedema of face and neck leading to respiratory failure, rhabdomyolysis complicating into acute kidney injury, myocarditis and acute liver injury. Here we present a unique case of PPD poisoning in a young female presented with laryngeal edema and marked rhabdomyolysis. Preemptive shifting to Critical care unit and elective endotracheal intubation for air way patency obviated the need of tracheostomy and precluded its related complications. Moreover, aggressive intravenous hydration prevented from renal failure despite markedly raised Creatine phospho kinase (CPK) levels.