Page 135 - Participant Manual

Signs and Symptoms of Poisoning

Signs and symptoms of poisoning vary depending on the type and amount of poison taken into the body.
The person may experience:

■ Gastrointestinal signs and symptoms, such as
abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

■ Respiratory signs and symptoms, such as
difficulty breathing or slow and shallow
breathing.

■ Neurological signs and symptoms, such as changes
in level of consciousness, seizures, headache,
dizziness, weakness or irregular pupil size.

■ Skin signs and symptoms, such as an unusual
skin color or sweating.

Your scene size-up and check of the person will often
yield clues that point to poisoning as the cause of the
person’s illness. For example, you may note an open or spilled container, an unusual odor, burns around the
person’s mouth, a strange odor on the person’s breath or other people in the area who are also ill.

If you think that a person has been poisoned, try to find out:

■ The type of poison. ■ When it was taken.
■ The quantity taken. ■ How much the person weighs.

This information can help you and others to give the most appropriate care.

First Aid Care for Poisoning

If the person is showing signs and symptoms of a life-threatening condition (for example, loss of
consciousness, difficulty breathing) or if multiple people are affected, call 9-1-1 or the designated emergency
number.

If the person is responsive and alert, call the national Poison Help hotline at 1-800-222-1222. When
you dial this number, your call is routed to the regional poison control center that serves your area, based
on the area code and exchange of the phone number you are calling from (Box 7-5). The poison control
center staff member will tell you what care to give. General first aid care steps for poisoning include the
© 2011, 2016 The American National Red Cross. All rights reserved.
following:
■ Remove the source of the poison if you can do ■ If you do not know what the poison was
so without endangering yourself. and the person vomits, save a sample for
analysis.
■ Do not give the person anything to eat or drink
unless the poison control center staff member
tells you to do so.

Myth-Information. Myth: If a person has been poisoned, you should make the person vomit to get
rid of the poison. Inducing vomiting in a person who has been poisoned often causes additional harm
and is not recommended. Sometimes the person may vomit on his or her own, but you should never
give the person anything to make him or her vomit unless you are specifically instructed to do so by
the poison center staff member.

Chapter 7 Environmental Injuries and Illnesses | 126 | First Aid/CPR/AED Participant’s Manual Chapter 7 Environmental Injuries and Illnesses | 127 | First Aid/CPR/AED Participant’s Manual