Published August 13, 2024
In a poison emergency, the first thing to do is not panic. Help is just a phone call away. The national Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222 is your best resource to find out what to do in a poison emergency. The Poison Help Line is staffed by nurses and pharmacists, who are highly trained in managing poisonings. The staff also have access to board-certified doctors experienced in toxicology (certified specialists in poison information).
Staff are uniquely qualified to give treatment advice over the phone. However, some of the key pieces of information they will need in order to assess the situation include the following:
Poison Control staff have access to a national database of toxic substances. Utilizing their expertise allows over 80 percent of poison accidents to be managed outside of a medical facility. This results in a reduction of 911 calls and hospital emergency department visits. Even those victims who are referred to a medical facility for a poison emergency were found to have better outcomes when Poison Control was contacted.
Why not call 911 instead? There are several advantages to calling the Poison Help Line or using the Poison Control website in a poison emergency. The first is that you get immediate treatment advice from an expert. Second, the chances of avoiding an unnecessary emergency department visit increase significantly. However, there are certain situations in which 911 should be called prior to the Poison Help Line. These include the following:
If any of the above are true, call 911 immediately.
The Poison Hotline can also answer non-emergent questions about poisons. They have educational resources that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, any time you are unsure a poisoning occurred, don't hesitate to call or use their online services.
