Get Poison Control Help

Contact Poison Control right away if you suspect a poisoning. Help is available online with webPOISONCONTROL® or by phone at 1-800-222-1222. Both options are free, expert, and confidential.

Get help onlineorCall 1-800-222-1222

Call 911 right away if the individual collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can’t be awakened.

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Need help identifying a pill?

Mixed up your meds? Found a loose pill? Worried that your refill looks different? Fortunately, most medications can be identified from the letters and numbers imprinted on the pill.

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Tip of the Day

Lily of the Valley is a sweet-scented and very poisonous flowering plant. All parts of the plant, including its red berries, contain numerous cardiac glycosides, which slow down the heart and cause irregular heart rhythm. It is one of many reasons to watch children closely when they play outdoors.

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Poison & Prevention Information

Batteries Cause Devastating Injuries

Swallowed batteries burn through a child's esophagus in just 2 hours, leading to surgery, months with feeding and breathing tubes, and even death. About the size of a nickel, 20 mm, 3-volt lithium coin cells are the most hazardous as they are big enough to get stuck and burn faster. Secure battery compartments and keep loose batteries away from children.

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E-Cigs and Toddlers: Beware

Electronic cigarettes (e-Cigs) are devices made to look like real cigarettes. They contain a battery, a heater, and liquid nicotine. When heated, the nicotine liquid becomes a vapor, which users inhale. Liquid nicotine products contain flavorings and something to help the product vaporize. Liquid nicotine products are very poisonous if swallowed.

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Carbon Monoxide: The Invisible Killer

It's not an intriguing or novel hazard, just the persistent, invisible killer: carbon monoxide. Seriously, you still don't have a carbon monoxide alarm in every sleeping area of your home? Get one! And keep fuel-burning appliances in good repair; don't use grills or gasoline-powered tools indoors, and don't run your car in an attached garage or place a generator close to your home.

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The Poison Post® Free quarterly e-newsletter

6.21

Dry Scooping Can Be Life-Threatening

Pre-workout supplements can contain caffeine and other ingredients which can be poisonous when taken in large amounts. Dry scooping, or consumption of undiluted pre-workout powder, can be life-threatening.

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Do Your Part

Poison Control reduces poisoning-related ER visits, a critical part of preserving valuable healthcare resources for coronavirus (COVID-19) care.

Do your part to reduce unnecessary ER visits by saving Poison Control's contact information. Text poison to 484848 or download our vcard. The vcard has the Poison Control telephone number and the link to online help. Save Poison Control contact info NOW!


  

A Prime Time for Poisonings

With the onset of coronavirus (COVID-19), schools, day cares, and businesses are closed. Many of us are working remotely while trying to juggle the family. Hand sanitizer, cleaning products, and wipes, are within close reach of our children. Our use of medications may be different than it was last week. Chloroquine is a new household word. These changes make it a prime time for unintentional poisonings to happen right at home. Contact Poison Control FIRST for poison help.

Poison Statistics

Age and Gender, Human Poison Exposures Reported to NPDS, 2019

2019 poisoning data age by gender