Poisoning
Get help at once; do not make them vomit. Starter text to review by a health worker.
What to do
- Call 999 or 112, or take the person to hospital at once, if you think they have swallowed, breathed in or touched something harmful (medicine, paraffin, pesticide, chemicals, plants).
- If they are unresponsive and not breathing, start CPR if you know how. If they are unresponsive but breathing, lay them on their side (recovery position).
- Keep checking their breathing and keep talking to them if they are awake.
- Find the container, packet or medicine that caused it and take it with you to hospital.
- If they vomit, keep some of it in a container for the health workers to see.
Call 999 or 112 now if
- Always, if you think someone has been poisoned.
- Especially if they are drowsy, unconscious, struggling to breathe or having a seizure.
Do not
- Do not try to make them vomit: they could choke.
- Do not give them anything to eat or drink.
Sources
Written in our own words from these sources. Learn first aid properly with the Kenya Red Cross.