Teflon flu can cause a range of symptoms, including fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and dry cough. Basically, it can make you feel like you have the flu, but it's caused by your cookware.
If a person does experience symptoms of polymer fume fever, they are advised to get away from the source of the fumes, to drink fluids and to use over-the-counter painkillers to manage fever and body aches, according to Poison Control.
Signs and symptoms of Teflon flu
Symptoms generally occur within a few hours after being exposed to the fumes and usually resolve within 1 to 2 days. Rarely, severe symptoms including lung damage have occurred due to inhaling polymer fumes.
The symptoms of Teflon flu include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and dry cough. Stainless steel, ceramic, and cast iron cookware are great alternatives.
However, PFOA can be measured in blood for years after exposure. PFOA levels decline in blood naturally by about half every 2-4 years, assuming there is no additional exposure. This is known as a half life.
Teflon on its own is safe and can't harm you when you ingest it. Particles of flaked or chipped pans that find themselves in food pass through your digestive system don't pose any health risks.
Not all non-stick pans use Teflon; other non-stick coatings have become available. For example, a mixture of titanium and ceramic can be sandblasted onto the pan surface, and then fired at 2,000 °C (3,630 °F) to produce a non-stick ceramic coating.
Overheating nonstick pans can release toxic fumes, causing polymer fume fever. Polymer fume fever, or "Teflon flu," is linked to PTFE, a chemical in nonstick coatings. Long-term exposure to polymer fumes may worsen respiratory conditions.
Treatment includes antibiotics for an active strep infection with symptoms, cognitive behavioral therapy for behavioral and psychiatric disorders, and habit reversal training for tics.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PFAS accumulations in the body may lead to several health concerns, including: Increased cholesterol. Low-birth weights in infants. Decreased vaccine responses.
Recent data from America's Poison Centers reveals a significant uptick in cases of “Teflon flu,” a condition caused by inhaling fumes from overheated nonstick cookware. With 265 suspected cases reported in 2023 alone, this trend highlights the potential health risks associated with common household items.
Symptoms of Teflon flu are temporary and generally start within 12 hours of exposure, but can take up to 24 hours to take hold.
Are they nonstick? The basket and crisper plate are both made of aluminium and have a Ceramic Non-stick coating, It is Teflon and PFOA Free.
For our recommendations, we stick to stainless steel, cast iron, and enamel or ceramic coatings. If you're making the switch from traditional nonstick cookware, you should look into ceramic or enameled cookware. These coatings tend to hold up for years, especially if you cook over medium to low heat.
The condition is caused by overheating pans coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which releases fumes into the air. Breathing in those fumes can cause flu-like symptoms. Symptoms of polymer fume fever include chest tightness, coughing, difficulty breathing and headaches.
Teflon® is a registered trademark of DuPont and a brand name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) a nonstick finish. While Calphalon cookware features polytetrafluoroethylene-based nonstick finishes, we are not associated with, nor do we use, Teflon® branded products.
Do air fryers have Teflon coating? Most air fryer baskets are coated with Teflon or a similar nonstick coating. The majority of air fryers in the market today have Teflon or nonstick-coated cooking baskets.
Broken or scratched Teflon coating could lead to the release of thousands to millions of plastic particles, a study suggests. The coating may shed microplastics and PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to health risks including liver disease and kidney cancer.
TEFAL pans are not made of TEFLON™
Historically Tefal has used TEFLON™ brand coatings for its non-stick pans. However, when Groupe SEB purchased TEFAL in 1968, it wanted to internalize the manufacturing of its own non-stick coatings to better control all stages of production.
The coating that makes food not stick to the pan is delicate. Scratches from metal utensils can cause it to eventually peel off, and cooking over high heat can damage the surface permanently. Busy professional kitchens need pots and pans that can withstand years of heavy-duty use, meaning durable, uncoated metal items.
In general, you want to replace nonstick pans after five years.
Essentially, the only difference lies in the name. PTFE is the shortened name of the chemical polytetrafluoroethylene, and Teflon is the trade name of the same polymer. If you are looking for a highly flexible, non-stick material that is chemical, electrical and thermal resistant, look no further than PTFE.
Is HexClad cookware safe? HexClad describes its nonstick coating as a "Japanese coating infused with diamond dust." The company states that its pans are PFOA-free, though they do contain PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), commonly known by the brand name Teflon.