Treatment

Take the following actions until help arrives:

• Swallowed poison. Remove anything remaining in the person's mouth. If the suspected poison is a household cleaner or other chemical, read the container's label and follow instructions for accidental poisoning.
• Poison on the skin. Remove any contaminated clothing using gloves. Rinse the skin for 15 to 20 minutes in a shower or with a hose.
• Poison in the eye. Gently flush the eye with cool or lukewarm water for 20 minutes or until help arrives.

• Button batteries. The small, flat batteries used in watches and other electronics — particularly the larger, nickel-sized ones — are especially dangerous to small children. A battery stuck in the esophagus can cause severe tissue burns.

  If you suspect that a child has swallowed one of these batteries, immediately take the child for an emergency X-ray to find its location. If the battery is in the esophagus, it will have to be removed. If it has passed into the stomach, it's usually safe to allow it to pass on through the intestinal tract.

• Medicated patches. If you think a child got hold of medicated patches — adhesive products for transdermal drug delivery — carefully inspect the child's skin and remove any that are attached. Also check the roof of the mouth, where medicated patches can get stuck if the child sucks on them.
• Inhaled poison. Get the person into fresh air as soon as possible.
• If the person vomits, turn the person's head to the side to prevent choking.
• Begin CPR if the person shows no signs of life, such as moving, breathing or coughing.
• Call Poison Help at 800-222-1222 in the United States or your regional poison control center for additional instructions.
• Have somebody gather pill bottles, packages or containers with labels, and any other information about the poison to send along with the ambulance team.