Teflon Flu....And PTFE Poisioning!

[BBQ Fish]

My wife just reminded me and thought it would be a good thing to post here of "some" of the dangers in overheating Teflon "PTFE" coated pots and pans.
Early one morning while the wife and kids were in the back looking through the garden, i thought i'd make breafast. So i got my trusty non-stick designated egg pan, lit the burner and all of a sudden, my daughter started screaming! Not realizing the burner was still on high, and putting the pan on the burner, i ran out to find that a bee had just started to sting her as my wife swatted it away.
What did seem like an eternity, was only about five minutes, and remembering that i forgot about the pan, i rushed back in to take care of that. I went and shut off the burner, opened a few windows because it smelled, and when i started opening the second window, i started feeling sick. My first thought was that the flu was going around, but this felt different! In the other room however was Thunder, my Moluccan Cockatoo, and Storm my Yellow Collar Macaw, which were getting loud, but thats because they wanted their everyday fruit for breakfast as well.
About an hour later I had a temp of 103.9, headache, stomachache, backache and the chills, so i had my wife take me to the hospital, and my best friend and neighbor come over to take care of the kids. Upon getting in the hospital i thought it was one of those flu's from over seas, but in talking to the doctor he automatically diagnosed "Teflon Flu" and after cultures came back, he was right!
Meanwhile, my wife gets a call from home, and come to find out as soon as we pulled out of the drive, both birds were acting very erratic and Storm started convulsing and soon dieing afterwords with my friend actually giving him CPR to try to save him! And right after that my friend walks in to check in on Thunder, and he was hanging upside down on his perch, and already passed.
Soon thereafter, i was finally released and went home to morn the losses, as well as find out what happened to my birds. So we called the vet and (per her recommendation) we're off to get an autopsy. And if that wasn't bad enough as well as the whole day....what i found out there was worse!
I guess when birds inhale PTFE fumes it automatically attacks their nervous system and lungs, which then they start to hemorrhage and suffer greatly!
Then finding out from the vet that the hotter Teflon gets, more chemicals, and tiny little particles start releasing from the cookware which actually are said to embed deep into the lungs. However, there is at a certian point in temperature upon which Teflon starts to emit a Toxic gasses.....And now thinking about that, i really don't know what the actual temp was, and i never want to find out, again!

I guess in all these happenings and for the lack of a better phrase....What doesn't kill you makes you grow stronger, and i firmly believe that!
All i can say now is be careful, never use Teflon coated cookware on high heat, of even medium-high for that fact.
Since then however, Dupont does now list (ONLY) on their web site about that they call "Polymer Fume Feaver"!http://www.teflon.com/NASApp/Teflon/TeflonPageServlet?pageId=/consumer/na/eng/Search/results
And click "What Is Teflon".

Thanks for listening.

Peace

 

[GB]

BBQ Fish I am so sad that you had to learn this the hard way! What a horrible thing to go through!!!

Yes make sure you never use teflon pans on high heat and never heat the pans empty for more than a few (30 or so) seconds. Once you food oil or food in them the temp drops and if you don't use high heat it should not be a problem. Birds are especially susceptible to this kind of poisoning unfortunately.

 

[buckytom]

thanks for the info bbqfish. i have been acutely aware of the dangers of overheating non-stick cookware for years as i have parrots. birds are exponentially more sensitive to airborne chemicals (like canaries in coal mines), so i have always been careful to keep my boidies away from the kitchen.

 

[BBQ Fish]

Oops....i did fail to mention that this was May of 2003 and shortly thereafter was when Dupont made the dangers aware through their web site.

 

[corazon]

Do you guys know about sticking those pans in the oven? How hot is too hot?

 

[GB]

Depends on the pan. I have Calphalon non sticks and I think they are fine up to 450 Farenheight.

 

[luvs]

i don't have any teflon and neither do my Parents but my Grandpa does and when i'm there i hate using it. i read about the dangers of teflon in the paper probably when i was about 11 and have been iffy about using it since.

 

[IcyMist]

I never heard about that and am glad that you started this thread. My mother loves teflon pans and that is about the only kind of pans she has. I know I won't be able to convince her to toss them, but at least I can make her aware of the problem. TY TY TY for posting and I am very sorry that you lost your pets.

 

[GB]

As long as they are used properly then they are safe to use, so don't go throwing out your pans because of this problem. Just make sure to use them right

 

[nytxn]

Do you guys know about sticking those pans in the oven? How hot is too hot?

The directions that come with the pan usually tell you. Mine has a 400 limit in the oven.

 

[SuPerKitty]

I've heard some negative facts about Teflon products recently and this just confirms it. I am very sorry about your loss, Mr. BBG Fish and thank you for letting people know your story. Not long ago I also overheated my Teflon pan chasing a bug in my place. It wasn't for long but the stove was on high and it made this strange smell. It took me a while to get rid of that stinge. Fortunately I didn't get sick from it but it concerned me greatly since it was not long after I had heard about a possible connection between cancer and some chemical material they use for the surface of Teflon stuff. At this point I am so tempting to just throw them away even though it's a lot to sacrifice...

 

[BBQ Fish]

Do you guys know about sticking those pans in the oven? How hot is too hot?

Just like everyone else is saying it really depends on the manufacturer.
I now have Caphalon One Annodized, and i don't recall seeing a suggested max temperature in the instructions? But they do say it can go under the broiler.