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Poisoning
A
poisoning may or may not be obvious. Sometimes
the source of a poisoning can be easily
identified -- an open bottle of medication or
a spilled bottle of household cleaner. Look
for these signs if you suspect a poisoning
emergency:
1. Burns or redness around the mouth
and lips.
2. Breath that smells like chemicals.
3. Burns, stains, and odors on the
person, his or her clothing, or on the
furniture, floor, rugs, or other objects in
the surrounding
area.
4. Vomiting, difficulty breathing, or
other unexpected symptoms.
If you can find no indication of
poisoning, do not treat the person for
poisoning, but call for emergency help.
If you
believe someone has been poisoned, take the
following steps:
1. Some products have instructions on
the label specifying what to do if a poisoning
occurs. If the product known to be the poison has these instructions, follow
them.
2. If you cannot identify the poison
or there are no instructions on the product
label, call your local poison control center for instructions. Keep the number near
your telephone.
3. Certain poisons should be vomited;
others should not. If you do not know the
identity of the substance swallowed, do not
induce vomiting. Overall, you should not
induce vomiting unless directed to by a poison
control authority or your physician.
5. If you are told to induce vomiting
in the person who has swallowed poison, one
method
to induce vomiting is touching the back of the
throat of the person to initiate gagging.
6. If the poison has spilled on the
person's clothing, skin, or eyes, remove the
clothing and flush the skin or eyes with cool or lukewarm water for 20 minutes.
7. Get immediate medical attention. If
you have identified the poison, take the
container with you.
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DISCLAIMER:
Under no conditions responsibility is being accepted by
the authors of this site, or anyone else related to this site regarding the
consequences of use of the information distributed in this documentation in any
First Aid application.
THIS IS A TUTORIAL, HENCE A STUDY
AID, NOT A FIRST AID MANUAL.
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