Rarely a person may develop severe iron intoxication from absorption across damaged skin.
Clinical features:
(1) The patient has a large break in skin integrity, such as thermal or chemical burn.
(2) The person is immersed into a liquid solution of an iron salt such as ferrous chloride.
(3) The patient develops multi-organ failure with DIC and metabolic acidosis.
(4) The serum iron is markedly elevated.
In the case of Doolin and Drueck the patient fell into a vat of ferrous chloride, with aspiration and ingestion of the solution.
In theory a person with prolonged exposure to ferrous chloride and a small break in the skin could absorb excess iron.
