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Is Super Glue Toxic?

hand stuck with super glue

The Bottom Line

Super glue is cyanoacrylate, an acrylic resin that forms a strong adhesive bond. The main adverse effect is bonding of 2 surfaces such as lips, eye lids, or fingers. It can cause irritation and pain. Do not pull bonded areas apart. Soaking in water, acetone, or isopropyl alcohol or lubricating with oil or petroleum jelly may shorten bonding time.

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What is super glue?

Super glue is cyanoacrylate, an acrylic resin that quickly forms a strong adhesive bond. This strong bond occurs when molecules of cyanoacrylate form long chains in a process called polymerization. Polymerization occurs more quickly upon exposure to water.

Is super glue toxic? What happens if you eat super glue?

Exposure to super glue is common and usually not serious. Most super glue products contain small volumes of glue. If you eat super glue from the tube, the moisture in your mouth will cause rapid polymerization, making it stick to the mouth, teeth and/or tongue. The main adverse effect of super glue exposure is the bonding of two surfaces. This means if you attempt to eat super glue, you are most likely to glue your tongue to your teeth or your teeth to your cheeks. Usually, it does not reach beyond the mouth to the back of the throat or esophagus. Super glue is not toxic once it is dry.

What should I do if I accidentally got super glue on my teeth or lips?

If super glue gets on your teeth, you can wait for it to wear off on its own or you may get it off more quickly by brushing it with a toothbrush. If it is on your lips, you can apply water to weaken the bond. It may take hours to a couple of days for your saliva to loosen the glue. 

Can you use super glue on cuts?

In some instances, medical grade super glue can be used on small clean cuts instead of stitches. This glue which has a modified chemical structure so that it doesn’t polymerize as quickly and gives off less heat. Some examples of surgical super glue are Dermabond, GluStitch, GluSeal, and Epiglu. 

What is the treatment for super glue in your eye?

Super glue will seal eyelids together. If the glue gets into the eye, irritation, pain, loss of eyelashes, inflammation of the conjunctiva and corneal abrasions can occur. Do not force the eye open. Rinse the eye with water for 15 minutes and then place a gauze patch covered with ophthalmic ointment (specially formulated for application to the eye) over the eye. It may take several days for the bond to loosen and for the eye to open. If someone gets super glue in the eyes, gets super glue in the mouth, or if you have a question about using super glue safely, help from experts is available through the webPOISONCONTROL online tool and by phone at 1-800-222-1222 Poison Control’s expert guidance is always free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.

What happens if you get super glue on the skin?

Super glue can cause skin irritation and pain, especially if bonded areas are pulled apart. If a large amount of superglue gets on the skin, chemical burns can occur since the polymerization reaction releases heat. Possible treatments to separate tissue surfaces include applying acetone (some nail polish removers), soaking in warm soapy water or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), or lubricating with mineral oil, vegetable oil, or petroleum jelly. It can take hours for these treatments to work. 
 
Wendy Klein-Schwartz, Pharm.D., MPH
Clinical Toxicologist 

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Poisoned?

Call 1-800-222-1222 or

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Prevention Tips

  • Do not open the super glue tube with your mouth.
  • Read the label so you do not mistake super glue tube for a medicinal ointment such as eye ointment.
  • Store super glue up, away, and out of reach of children.
  • Use rubber gloves or finger cots when applying super glue.
  • Apply a small amount at a time; squeeze only a small portion of the tube.
  • To prevent worse injury, do not pull adhered areas of skin apart. 
  • Discard the used super glue tube in a trash can inaccessible to children and pets.

This Really Happened

A 34-year-old woman was repairing the handle on a glass pitcher with super glue. She didn’t realize that a drop of super glue was on her finger when she rubbed her eye. Her eye lids on her right eye were stuck together. She was taken to an urgent care center by her husband. The urgent care center called Poison Control, and the poison specialist instructed them not to try to force her eye lids open. The specialist asked if she there was any eye pain, which there wasn’t, and if she thought the super glue was in her eye under her eye lids, which she didn’t. They were told to rinse her eye with water for 15 minutes. The poison specialist called to follow-up and was told that her eye lids were still stuck together. The specialist recommended that they put a gauze patch with ophthalmic ointment on her eye and to reassure her that over the next few days her eye would open. On follow-up 2 days later by Poison Control, she informed the specialist that her eye could open.

References

Carstairs SD, Koh C, Qian L, Zozi M, Seivard G, Cantrell FL. Sticky situations: cyanoacrylate exposures reported to a poison control system. Clin Toxicol. 2017;55(9):1001-1003. doi: 10.1080/15563650.2017.1327067.

Clayman E, Billington A, Cruse CW. Full-thickness pediatric burn following reaction between cyanoacrylate nail adhesive and cotton shirt. J Cutn Aesthet Surg. 2020;13(1):35-37. doi: 10.4103/JCAS.JCAS_64_19.

Eyth CP, Echlin K, Jones I. Cyanoacrylate burn injuries: Two unusual cases and a review of the literature. Wounds. 2016;28(12): E53-E59.

Poisoned?

Call 1-800-222-1222 or

HELP ME online

Prevention Tips

  • Do not open the super glue tube with your mouth.
  • Read the label so you do not mistake super glue tube for a medicinal ointment such as eye ointment.
  • Store super glue up, away, and out of reach of children.
  • Use rubber gloves or finger cots when applying super glue.
  • Apply a small amount at a time; squeeze only a small portion of the tube.
  • To prevent worse injury, do not pull adhered areas of skin apart. 
  • Discard the used super glue tube in a trash can inaccessible to children and pets.

This Really Happened

A 34-year-old woman was repairing the handle on a glass pitcher with super glue. She didn’t realize that a drop of super glue was on her finger when she rubbed her eye. Her eye lids on her right eye were stuck together. She was taken to an urgent care center by her husband. The urgent care center called Poison Control, and the poison specialist instructed them not to try to force her eye lids open. The specialist asked if she there was any eye pain, which there wasn’t, and if she thought the super glue was in her eye under her eye lids, which she didn’t. They were told to rinse her eye with water for 15 minutes. The poison specialist called to follow-up and was told that her eye lids were still stuck together. The specialist recommended that they put a gauze patch with ophthalmic ointment on her eye and to reassure her that over the next few days her eye would open. On follow-up 2 days later by Poison Control, she informed the specialist that her eye could open.