On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

A poison is any substance that is harmful to your body. You might swallow it, inhale it, inject it, or absorb it through your skin. Any substance can be poisonous if too much is taken. Poisons can include:

• Prescription or over-the-counter medicines taken in doses that are too high
• Overdoses of illegal drugs
• Carbon monoxide from gas appliances
• Household products, such as laundry powder or furniture polish
• Pesticides
• Indoor or outdoor plants
• Metals such as lead and mercury

The effects of poisoning range from short-term illness to brain damage, coma, and death. To prevent poisoning it is important to use and store products exactly as their labels say. Keep dangerous products where children can't get to them. Treatment for poisoning depends on the type of poison. If you suspect someone has been poisoned, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222 right away.

Start Here

• Overview of Poisoning (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Poisoning (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Poisoning: First Aid (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Household Safety: Preventing Poisoning (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Poison-Proof Your Home One Room at a Time: Pesticide Poison Prevention Checklist (Environmental Protection Agency) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Prevention Tips -- Poison Help (Health Resources and Services Administration) Also in Spanish
• Read the Label First! Protect Your Household (Environmental Protection Agency) - PDF
• Read the Label First! Protect Your Pets (Environmental Protection Agency) - PDF

Treatments and Therapies

• Poisoning: What You Can Do (Health Resources and Services Administration)

Specifics

• Alcohol Poisoning (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Benzene (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Chemical Emergency Preparedness (American Red Cross)
• Cyanide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• In Case of Pesticide Emergency (Environmental Protection Agency)
• Strychnine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Statistics and Research

• National Poison Data System (NPDS) Annual Reports (America's Poison Centers)
• Poisonings Among Children Ages 0-14 in 2018 (Safe Kids Worldwide)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Poisoning (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Trends in emergency department visits for acute intoxication: a 3-year retrospective...
• Article: Comparing Prehospital Time Among Pediatric Poisoning Patients in Rural and Urban...
• Article: Poisoning due to medication dosing errors in Spain.
• Poisoning -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• Find a Poison Center (Health Resources and Services Administration) Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Also in Spanish

Children

• Poison Prevention (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Poisoning (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Poisoning first aid (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Toxicology screen (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish