Zinc

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Seek immediate medical help.

Immediately give the person milk, unless instructed otherwise by a health care provider.

Determine the following information:

• The patient's age, weight, and condition
• The name of the product (as well as the ingredients and strength if known)
• When it was swallowed
• The amount swallowed

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

See National Poison Control center.

The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. The patient may receive:

• Medicines to treat symptoms
• Fluids (water or milk)
• A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
• Medicine (antidote) to reverse the effect of the poison

How well a patient does depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment was received. The faster a patient gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery. If symptoms are mild, the person will usually make a full recovery . If the poisoning is severe, death may occur up to a week after swallowing the poison.

Review Date: 01/19/2007
Reviewed By: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.