Need help right now?
If someone needs immediate help with child swallowed poison, use emergency mode.
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DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A child has swallowed household cleaner, medicine, plants, or another toxic substance. Small amounts can be serious in children.
The essentials if you need to act right now.
Call 112 and Poison Control now. Save the bottle. Do not make child vomit.
What might I see? Observable signs — no diagnosis required.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Open medicine bottle, spilled pills, or empty cleaner container near the child.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Burns, drooling, strange breath odor, vomiting, sleepiness, or seizures.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Child found with substance in mouth or on hands.
Optional deeper explanation — not required to act.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Children are smaller — even a small dose of adult medicine or cleaner can be life-threatening.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Some substances look like candy or juice. Do not wait for symptoms.
Check the scene before you approach.
Civilian-safe actions you can take.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Call 112 or 108 and Poison Control immediately — children need expert guidance fast.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Remove any remaining substance from the child mouth only if they are awake and you can see it clearly.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Read the product label to Poison Control. Tell child age and weight if known.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Follow their instructions exactly. Keep the child on their side if drowsy.
When and how to get professional help.
Any suspected ingestion in a child is an emergency until Poison Control says otherwise.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Identify what was taken, call Poison Control and emergency services, and follow their instructions. Do not guess treatments.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Call 112 or 108 and Poison Control. Say: "Child swallowed [substance if known]. Need help now."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Give child age, weight, product name, amount, and time.
Dangerous actions, when not to attempt rescue, and common myths.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT induce vomiting in a child unless Poison Control specifically instructs it.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT give milk, water, or ipecac unless told to by experts.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT wait to see if the child gets sick — call first.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A small taste cannot hurt a child
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Many adult medicines and cleaners are toxic in doses that look tiny. Children metabolize drugs differently.
Other scenarios in the same family.
Alcohol poisoning
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A person who drank heavily is unconscious, vomiting, breathing slowly, or cannot be woken — beyond normal drunkenness.
Adult swallowed poison
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — An adult has swallowed an unknown or known toxic substance — household chemical, medicine, or other poison.
Button battery
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Someone swallowed a small coin-shaped battery from a toy, remote, or watch. It can burn through tissue within hours.
Carbon monoxide
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — People in a closed room with heater, generator, or car exhaust feel headache, nausea, or confusion — carbon monoxide is odorless.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Bring container and child to emergency care if directed — do not drive alone if child is worsening.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Assume hospital care is needed for any unknown child ingestion.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Immediate help if trouble breathing, seizures, or unresponsive.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Delaying the call because "it was just a little" allows absorption to continue.