Treatment
Poisoning can occur from a variety of factors like medications, illicit drugs, foods, and attempts to harm ones life. Poisoning is a medical emergency and cannot be treated at home. If think you or someone you know shows the symptoms of poisoning as described previously, seek medical care immediately.
Poison is anything that kills or injures through its chemical actions. Most poisons are swallowed (ingested). The word poison comes from the Latin word – potare – meaning to drink.
Overview
If the person has no symptoms but has taken a potentially dangerous poison, you should also call a poison control center or go to the nearest emergency department for an evaluation. But poisons can also enter the body in other ways:
- By breathing
- Through the skin
- By IV injection
- From exposure to radiation
- Venom from a snake bite or insect bite
Poisoning Causes
Poisons include highly toxic chemicals not meant for human ingestion or contact, such as cyanide, paint thinners, or household cleaning products.
Many poisons, however, are substances meant for humans to eat, including foods and medicines.
Foods
- Some mushrooms are poisonous
- Drinking water contaminated by agricultural or industrial chemicals
- Food that has not been properly prepared or handled
Drugs
Drugs that are helpful in therapeutic doses may be deadly when taken in excess.
Examples include:
- Beta blockers: Beta blockers are a class of drugs used to treat heart conditions (for example, angina, abnormal heart rhythms) and other conditions, (for example, high blood pressure, migraine headacheprevention, social phobia, and certain types of tremors). In excess, they can cause difficulty breathing, coma, and heart failure.
- Warfarin (Coumadin): Coumadin is a blood thinner used to prevent blood clots. It is the active ingredient in many rat poisons and may cause heavy bleeding and death if too much is taken.
- Vitamins: Vitamins, especially A and D, if taken in large amounts can cause liver problems and death.