Nearly 90% of childhood poisonings happen in the home and most can be treated at home with advice from the poison control center. However, it's important to know when a poisoning is serious enough to need medical treatment.

Signs and Symptoms

• drowsiness
• sudden change in behavior
• unusual odor
• pill fragments on the lips or clothes
• excessive drooling
• vomiting
• a confused mental state
• listlessness

What to Do

• If you suspect that your child has taken a poison and he or she is alert, contact your local poison control center right away for advice (1-800-222-1222).

Seek Emergency Medical Care or Call 911

If:

• your child has taken a poison and has a change in mental state. It's important to remember to bring the specific bottle or container of the substance that your child ingested. Do not give a child ipecac.

Think Prevention!

To help prevent poisoning:

• Keep medicines in locked cabinets.
• Keep cleaning products and alcohol in locked cabinets or far out of reach.
• Discard (or recycle) used button cell batteries (like those in watches) safely and store unused ones far from children's reach.
• Never tell a child that medicine tastes like candy.
• Never put cleaning products in containers that were once used for food or drink.
• Never put rodent poison on the floor.

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date Reviewed: 14-04-2014