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Treatment of Poisoning

If you think someone has consumed a poison and they seem to be unconscious, try to rouse them and encourage them to spit out any pills, but don’t put your hand into their mouth. Don’t try to treat them yourself, but get medical help straightaway – call for an emergency ambulance or take the person to your local Accident and Emergency department. Take all the substances with you that you think the give them as much information as you can, including what you think the person has taken and how much was consumed. If it’s not known what substance caused the poisoning, blood tests may be needed to identify it.

If you can, tell the doctor how old the person is, roughly how much they weigh and how long ago they took the poison. Also tell them if the person has vomited and if they have any existing medical conditions or are taking any medication (if you know).

Poisoning is sometimes treated with inactivated charcoal, which stops the poison from being absorbed by the stomach. Don’t use charcoal tablets that you can buy from pharmacies to treat poisoning yourself – these are for indigestion and flatulence only and the dose is too small to work as an antidote to poisoning. 

Sometimes doctors advise giving milk to a child who has been poisoned, but you should only do this with medical advice.

Forcing (inducing) the person who has been poisoned to be sick (vomit) is sometimes necessary. Again, you should only do this if your doctor has advised you to. Forcing a person who has swallowed a caustic (burning) substance to vomit can be very dangerous. Washing machine detergent is an example of a caustic substance.

If you are bitten by a snake, keep the bitten area still so the venom does not travel around the body and go to your local Accident and Emergency department, where you may have anti-venom treatment. If you are stung by an insect, remove the sting as soon as possible with tweezers or your fingers, taking care not to spread the venom further under the skin. See your GP if the redness and itching does not clear up after 48 hours, and call 999 for an ambulance if you have an allergic reaction. For further information, see the separate topics on bites, snake and stings, insect.

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