Poisoning, Chemicals and Smoke: The Number to Call First

Call 911 if somebody is unconscious, struggling to breathe, or having a seizure. Otherwise call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 — free, answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Do not wait for symptoms, and do not look it up first.

There is one number for this, it is free, it is answered at any hour, and most people have never dialled it.

1-800-222-1222 — the National Poison Control Center. The American College of Emergency Physicians notes that they “answer this number 24 hour a day, 7 days a week.”

Call it before you search the internet, and before you decide how bad it is. The people on that line do this all day, they have the reference material in front of them, and they will tell you whether this is a wait-and-watch, a clinic, or an emergency room. That judgement is the thing you do not have and they do.

Have three facts ready

ACEP’s instruction is specific about what to be ready with:

“Be ready to describe the poison to the poison control experts — what it was, how much was ingested and how long ago it was taken.”

What. How much. How long ago.

Get those three before you dial if you can do it in ten seconds — and if you cannot, dial anyway and work it out while the phone rings. Approximate is fine: “maybe a third of the bottle, about twenty minutes ago” is genuinely useful.

And read the label. ACEP: “Read the label on the product for safety instructions. Follow the instructions.” Many household products carry specific first-aid wording, and it is written for that product rather than for products in general.

Then take it with you. “If it’s safe to do so, take the poison with you to the emergency department.” The container is the fastest identification there is — better than a description, better than a photograph.

What this page will not tell you to do

You may have heard that you should make somebody vomit, or that you should give milk, or water, or something to absorb it.

This page gives none of those instructions, and the reason is honest: the source it cites does not give them either. ACEP’s page covers calling, describing, reading the label, and checking breathing. It does not tell a bystander to induce vomiting or to give anything by mouth.

And the remembered advice is often wrong for the specific substance. Whether anything should go into somebody depends entirely on what they swallowed, and getting that backwards can cause serious additional injury.

So: call 1-800-222-1222 and do what they tell you. They will ask what it was and answer that question properly. Acting on something you half-remember is the risk this section exists to prevent.

Check they are breathing

ACEP’s one clinical instruction: “Make sure the person is breathing. If not, and if you are trained to do so, start rescue breathing.”

If somebody is not breathing, or you are not sure, that is 911 immediately — and the dispatcher will direct you, including whether and how to begin. Note ACEP’s qualifier: “if you are trained to do so.” This page does not teach resuscitation and the dispatcher is better at it than any page.

Smoke, fumes and carbon monoxide

“Immediately get the person to a place where he or she can breathe fresh air.”

Fresh air first, before anything else — and from outside the building, not a window.

“Seek prompt medical attention if you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Carbon monoxide has its own page, because its symptoms overlap almost completely with heat illness and that matters here: carbon monoxide after a power cut.

Chemicals on skin or in eyes

On skin: “Remove contaminated clothing and rinse the skin with water for 15 to 20 minutes.”

Both halves. The clothing holds the chemical against the skin, so rinsing over a soaked sleeve achieves very little.

In eyes: “Rinse with running water for 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure the water is flowing away from the uncontaminated eye.”

That last clause is the detail almost nobody knows. Tilt the head so the rinse runs away from the good eye — otherwise you are washing the chemical from one eye into the other. Fifteen to twenty minutes is far longer than anybody does voluntarily. Use a clock.

Eye injuries more broadly, including what not to do: the first aid is different for every cause.

Where to go

Call 911 for unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, a seizure, collapse, or anybody deteriorating in front of you.

Call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 for everything else, including “I think they might have” and “it was only a small amount.”

Come to an emergency room when Poison Control tells you to, when a chemical has been swallowed or splashed and there is pain or difficulty, and for any exposure in a small child.

Our emergency rooms are open every hour of every day and are walk-in, with a full laboratory in the building. Go to the nearest one, and if another emergency department is closer, that one is the right answer tonight.

If you are unsure, come in — this list is not exhaustive and you are not expected to look up a substance while somebody is unwell.

Questions people actually ask

They seem completely fine. Do I still call? Yes. Do not wait for symptoms — with a lot of substances the delay between swallowing and becoming unwell is exactly the window in which something useful can be done.

My toddler ate something from under the sink and I do not know what. Call 1-800-222-1222 now, and look for the container while you are on the phone. Not knowing what it was is a normal reason to call, not a reason to wait until you do.

Should I make them sick? Ask Poison Control. This page will not tell you to, and neither will the source it cites.

Is it worth calling for a plant or a berry? Yes, and they get those calls constantly. Take a photograph or a piece of the plant if you can.

They swallowed it two hours ago and I only just found out. Call anyway. Time changes the advice; it does not remove it.

What about a pet? A veterinarian, urgently, and there are separate animal poison lines. Poison Control is for people.

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Call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 — free, any hour — and have three facts ready: what, how much, how long ago. Call 911 for unconsciousness, breathing difficulty or a seizure. Both of our emergency rooms are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Find your nearest emergency room →

Related reading: carbon monoxide after a power cut · eye injuries

Sources

59. Poisons, Chemicals & Smoke Inhalation — Know When To Go — American College of Emergency Physicians. https://www.emergencyphysicians.org/article/know-when-to-go/poisoning

This article is general information, not a diagnosis. It gives no doses and no treatment instruction for a swallowed substance — call Poison Control, who will. If you are unsure, come in. If it might be an emergency, treat it as one and call 911.