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Home Treatment

DO NOT make a person throw up unless told to do so by Poison Control or a health care professional. Seek immediate medical help.

If the chemical is on the skin or in the eyes, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes.


Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

  • Patient's age, weight, and condition
  • Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
  • Time it was swallowed
  • Amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number

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.


What to expect at the emergency room

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:

  • Fluids by IV
  • Hemodialysis (may be needed for the patient to survive)
  • Medicines to treat symptoms
  • Activated charcoal
  • A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
  • Endoscopy -- camera down the throat to see burns in the esophagus and the stomach
  • Medicine (antidote) to reverse the effect of the poison
  • Oxygen
  • Breathing tube
  • Bronchoscopy -- camera down the throat to see burns in the airways and lungs
  • Irrigation (washing of the skin) -- perhaps every few hours for several days
  • Skin debridment (surgical removal of burned skin)

Expectations (prognosis)

How well a patient does depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment was received. Ethylene glycol is extremely poisonous. The faster a patient gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery.

Complete recovery for lead poisoning takes a year or more. Those who do not die may have permanent brain damage.

If the amount of zinc or tin swallowed is low, recovery should take place within approximately 6 hours.

Skin color changes due to silver poisoning are permament.

Long-term poisoning with antimony and cadium may lead to lung cancer.

Recovery from acid poisoning depends on how much tissue has been damaged.



Review Date: 05/17/2006
Reviewed By: Janeen R. Azare, PhD, MSPH, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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