Pattern of Pesticide Storage Before Pesticide Self-Poisoning in Rural Sri Lanka

Patients who had self-poisoned with pesticides & who were admitted to adult medical wards were interviewed by study doctors to identify the source of the pesticides they ingested. Of the 669 patients included in the study, 425 were male. In 511 cases, the pesticides had been stored either inside or immediately outside the house; among this group only 8 patients obtained pesticiddees that were kept in a locked container. 10% of patients used pesticides stored in the field while 14% purchased pesticides from shops within a few hours of the episode. The most common reasons for choosing this method were its easy accessibility or its popularity as a suicide agent in the village. (25 refs.)