Overview

Poisoning is injury or death due to swallowing, inhaling, touching or injecting various drugs, chemicals, venoms or gases. Many substances — such as drugs and carbon monoxide — are poisonous only in higher concentrations or dosages. And others — such as cleaners — are dangerous only if ingested. Children are particularly sensitive to even small amounts of certain drugs and chemicals.

How you treat someone who may have been poisoned depends on:

• The person's symptoms.
• The person's age.
• Whether you know the type and amount of the substance that caused poisoning.

If you are concerned about possible poisoning, call Poison Help at 800-222-1222 in the United States or your regional poison control center. It may help to place a refrigerator magnet or a visible sticker in your home with the poison control number. Poison control centers are excellent resources for poisoning information and, in many situations, may advise that in-home observation is all that's needed.