Poisoning

Overview

Poisoning is when a person is exposed to a substance that can damage their health or endanger their life. 

Most cases of poisoning happen at home, and children under 5 have the highest risk of accidental poisoning. Parents and carers should be aware of sudden, unexplained illness in young children, particularly if they're drowsy or unconscious, because poisoning could be the cause.

Poisoning is potentially life threatening.

Common causes of poisoning include:

• swallowing a toxic substance, such as bleach
• taking an overdose of a prescription medicine
• eating something, like wild plants and fungi

Alcohol poisoning can cause similar symptoms.

The symptoms of poisoning depend on the substance and the amount you take in.

Some poisonous substances, such as carbon monoxide, interfere with the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Others, such as bleach, burn and irritate the digestive system.

Call an ambulance and seek immediate medical advice if you think someone has swallowed a poisonous substance.

Signs and Symptoms

The effects of poisoning depend on the substance swallowed, but can include vomiting, loss of consciousness, pain or a burning sensation.

General symptoms of poisoning can include:

• feeling and being sick
• diarrhoea
• stomach pain
• drowsiness, dizziness or weakness
• high temperature
• chills (shivering)
• loss of appetite
• headache
• irritability
• difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• breathing difficulties
• producing more saliva than normal
• skin rash
• blue lips and skin (cyanosis)
• burns around the nose or mouth
• double vision or blurred vision
• mental confusion
• seizures (fits)
• loss of consciousness
• coma, in severe cases

Immediate First Aid Steps

The following advice is important:

• Find out what's been swallowed so you can tell the paramedic or doctor.
• Do not give the person anything to eat or drink unless a healthcare professional advises you to.
• Do not try to cause vomiting.
• Stay with the person, as their condition may get worse and they could become unconscious.

Helping someone who is conscious

​If you think someone has been severely poisoned and they're still conscious, ask them to sit still and stay with them while you wait for medical help to arrive.

If they've been poisoned by swallowing something, try to get them to spit out anything that is remaining in their mouth.

If a harmful substance has splashed onto their skin or clothes, remove any contaminated items and wash the affected area thoroughly with warm or cool water. Be careful not to contaminate yourself in the process.

If the patient is conscious and breathing normally, put them into the recovery position and keep checking their breathing normally. 

Helping someone who is unconscious

If you think someone has swallowed poison and they appear to be unconscious, try to wake them and encourage them to spit out anything left in their mouth. Do not put your hand into their mouth and do not try to make them sick.

While you're waiting for medical help to arrive, lie the person on their side with a cushion behind their back and their upper leg pulled slightly forward, so they do not fall on their face or roll backwards. This is known as the recovery position.

Wipe any vomit away from their mouth and keep their head pointing down, to allow any vomit to escape without them breathing it in or swallowing it. Do not give them anything to eat or drink.

If the person is not breathing or their heart has stopped, begin CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if you know how to.

Do not perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if the person's mouth or airway is contaminated with the poison.

Do not leave them if they're unconscious: they could vomit. The vomit could then enter their lungs and make them choke.

If they do vomit naturally, try to collect some of it for the ambulance crew – this may help identify the cause of the poisoning.

When To Seek Medical Help

Being poisoned can be life-threatening. If someone has been poisoned, do not try to treat them yourself – seek medical help immediately.

Call an ambulance or seek immediate medical help (e.g. Emergency Department) if someone shows signs of serious poisoning, Such As

• being sick
• dizziness
• sudden, noticeable heartbeats (palpitations)
• breathing difficulties
• uncontrollable restlessness or agitation
• seizures (fits)
• drowsiness or loss of consciousness

Even if Symptoms Are Mild, Still Seek Medical Advice:

• If someone has been poisoned but does not appear seriously ill, they still need to be assessed by a medical professional to rule out any risks.

Treatment In Hospital

Some people who have swallowed a poisonous substance or overdosed on medicine will be admitted to hospital for examination and treatment.

Possible treatments that can be used to treat poisoning include:

• activated charcoal – sometimes used to treat someone who's been poisoned; the charcoal binds to the poison and stops it being further absorbed into the blood
• antidotes – these are substances that either prevent the poison from working or reverse its effects
• sedatives – may be given if the person is agitated
• a ventilator (breathing machine) – may be used if the person stops breathing
• anti-epileptic medicine – may be used if the person has seizures (fits)

Tests and investigations

Investigations may include blood tests and an electrocardiogram (ECG).

A blood test can be used to check the levels of chemicals and glucose in the blood. They may be used to perform a toxicology screen (tests to find out how many drugs or how much medicine a person has taken), and a liver function test, which indicates how damaged the liver is.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of accidental poisoning by medicine:

• always carefully read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine and take the exact dose recommended
• if you're unsure about any of the instructions or have further questions, ask your pharmacist or GP for advice
• some medicines should not be taken with alcohol or certain types of food – check if this is the case for your medicine
• some medicines can react unpredictably if taken with other medicines, including herbal remedies – always check before combining different medicines
• never take a medicine that's been prescribed for someone else
• keep all medicines out of reach of children

Keeping children safe

Children under 5 years of age have a particularly high risk of poisoning. To reduce the risk for your children:

• make sure all medicines, cleaning products, chemicals and potentially harmful cosmetics, such as nail varnish, are locked away out of the sight and out of reach of children
• do not store medicines, cleaning products or chemicals near food
• keep all chemicals in their original containers and never put medicines or chemicals, such as weedkiller, in soft drinks bottles
• when encouraging children to take medicine (when they're sick), do not refer to tablets as sweets
• do not leave old medicines lying around – take them to your local pharmacist to dispose of safely
• keep cigarettes (including vaping equipment and supplies) and tobacco out of the reach of children and do not smoke in front of children
• button batteries, such as those used in watches and also found in greeting cards that play a tune, can be easily swallowed, so keep them and the devices that use them out of reach of children
• some plants can be harmful to children so keep a careful eye on them when they are in your garden or outside in an area where plants grow
• "tide pods" (small capsules of detergent or liquid washing powder) are both dangerous and easily swallowed – keep on a high shelf or similar where young children cannot get to them
• whenever possible, buy medicines that come in child-resistant containers
• rinse out medicine or cosmetic containers and dispose of them in a place where children cannot reach them
• do not take or give medicines in the dark, to avoid taking an incorrect dosage

If you have young children, be extra careful when you have guests to stay or when you go to visit other people. If your friends and relatives do not have children, they may not keep certain items out of reach and their home is unlikely to be childproof.

Keep an eye on your children at all times and ask guests to keep items such as alcohol and cigarettes out of their reach.