Polymer fume fever explained

Polymer fume fever
Synonyms:	Fluoropolymer fever
Symptoms:	fever, shaking chills, arthralgias, myalgias, headache, and malaise

Polymer fume fever or fluoropolymer fever, also informally called Teflon flu, is an inhalation fever caused by the fumes released when polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, known under the trade name Teflon) reaches temperatures of 300 °C (572 °F) to 450 °C (842 °F).^[1]

Fever

When PTFE is heated above 450 °C the pyrolysis products are different and inhalation may cause acute lung injury.^[2] Symptoms are flu-like (chills, headaches and fevers) with chest tightness and mild cough. Onset occurs about 4 to 8 hours after exposure to the pyrolysis products of PTFE.^[3] A high white blood cell count may be seen and chest x-ray findings are usually minimal.

The polymer fumes are especially harmful to certain animals whose breathing, optimized for rapidity, allows in toxins which are excluded by human lungs. Fumes from Teflon in very high heat are fatal to parrots,^[4] as well as some other birds (PTFE toxicosis).^[5]

See also

• Cooking oil#Cooking with oil
• Metal fume fever

Further reading

• 8272977 . 8 . Polymer fume fever and other fluorocarbon pyrolysis-related syndromes . 1993 . Shusterman DJ . Occup Med . 3 . 519–31 .

Notes and References

1. Shusterman. D. J.. 1993-07-01. Polymer fume fever and other fluorocarbon pyrolysis-related syndromes. Occupational Medicine. 8. 3. 519–531. 0885-114X. 8272977.
2. Shimizu T, Hamada O, Sasaki A, Ikeda M . Polymer fume fever . BMJ Case Rep . 2012 . bcr2012007790. December 2012 . 23230259 . 4544973 . 10.1136/bcr-2012-007790 .
3. Greenberg . Michael I . Metal fume fever and polymer fume fever . Clinical Toxicology . National Institutes of Health . 13 August 2022 . February 23, 2015. 53 . 4 . 195–203 . 10.3109/15563650.2015.1013548 . 25706449 . 21977121 .
4. Athan, Mattie Sue, Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot, p. 126, Barron's Educational Service, 1993, .
5. Web site: Teflon Toxicity (PTFE Toxicosis) in Birds: Signs and Prevention . dead . 25 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081009054607/http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=18&articleid=2874 . 9 October 2008 .