Accidental Ingestions
A surprisingly large number of accidental ingestions occur each year in the US. Some involve household poisons such as bleach and other chemical cleaners while others occur at work and others still involve the ingestion of poisonous plants. The easiest way to avoid poisoning through accidental ingestion is to follow the steps outlined below:
- Keep toxic chemicals and all medicines in a safe storage facility. If they are in the home make sure they are out of reach of all children.
- Leave any cleaners or chemicals that can be classed as a poison in their original containers. If they have to be transferred to other containers make sure they are labeled as poisonous.
- Dispose of unused medicines by returning them to your local pharmacy. Don't just throw them in the trash where children can find them.
In the event that a family member or a work colleague does accidentally ingest a poison, you need to seek medical help as soon as possible. Poisons, in sufficient quantity, can cause short term or even permanent damage to internal organs and so it is vital that the correct procedures are followed.
Calling emergency services
Knowing the severity of the accidental ingestion is very important - whether it is a single incident or there are numerous victims, as there could be in an industrial setting. You will need to call emergency services and possibly your local poison control hotline and inform them of the situation. The emergency services organization needs to know what type of poison has been ingested, how much or how strong the poison is, when it was ingested and the medical status of the victim - have they vomited? are they unconscious? and as much other information as you can give them.
Large scale poisoning will also need to be reported to your local poison control centre. Again you will need the information mentioned above and also a rough estimate of the number of casualties and the severity of the poisoning. Although rare, there have been cases of severe food poisoning at places of work and it is this type of incident that needs to be reported to poison control.
In general, the quicker you can get medical treatment for a victim of accidental ingestion, the better their prognosis is. You shouldn't attempt to induce vomiting as this can make the situation worse, although they may vomit of their own accord with some poisons. The best course of action is simply to phone the emergency services and administer any first aid that may be required until professional help arrives.
