STUDY OF THE TOXIC EFFECTS OF FORMALDEHYDE VAPOURS WITHIN THE DISSECTION HALL ON THE FIRST YEAR INDIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS

Introduction: Formaldehyde has been used since decades as a time tested embalming fluid material either alone or in mixture with methyl alcohol, thymol crystals, glycerin and water. We in Medical College, Raigarh use 37% formaldehyde, 7% methyl alcohol and the remaining water to prepare embalming solution for cadavers. The concentration of formaldehyde is usually expressed in terms of parts per million (1 ppm= 1.248 mg/cu.m.). Vapours emanating out of the cadavers within the dissection hall is a potential source of health hazard for all medical professionals, student, faculty or technicians. The discomfort includes irritation to the mucous membrane of the nose, respiratory tract, eyes and also causes allergic reaction of the skin. Materials and Methods: Keeping track of the unconsciously caused complaints, we made a sincere attempt to chalk out the effects of formaldehyde fumes on 100 first MBBS students of Medical College, Raigarh (C.G) as they are virgin in terms of formalin exposure. Results: The obtained results were quite dramatic. Maximum number of students was positive as among the various symptoms described. Discussion: Medical students during their dissection course are exposed to formaldehyde, whose exposure is recently considered to be one of the causes of multiple chemical sensitivity. The present study broadly reflects the toxic effects over the first MBBS Indian medical students Conclusion: The presentation also recommends possible methods for reduction of formalin exposure so that the medical students can enter the dissection hall without any mental tension of toxicity of formalin vapours.