Suspected poisoning or overdose: what to do

1. 1If the person is unconscious, struggling to breathe, or having a seizure, call emergency services immediately.
2. 2Otherwise call the Poisons Information Helpline straight away — even if the person seems completely fine.
3. 3Find the container, packet or plant and keep it with you. What was taken, how much, and when are the three things that determine treatment.
4. 4Do not make the person vomit. This is outdated advice and it causes harm, particularly with corrosive substances and paraffin.
5. 5Do not give milk, salt water or any home remedy unless a health professional tells you to.
6. 6If poison is on the skin, remove contaminated clothing and rinse the skin with running water. For eyes, rinse with clean lukewarm water for a sustained period.

• ambulance10177Emergency Medical Services
• local_police10111South African Police Service
• sos112Universal Emergency (mobile)
• psychology0800 029 999SADAG Mental Health Crisis Line
• science0861 554 911Poisons Information Helpline

The most dangerous poisonings often look mild at first. paracetamol overdose is the clearest example: someone can feel entirely well for a day or more while the liver is being damaged, and the treatment that prevents that damage works best when given early.

By the time symptoms appear, the window in which treatment is simplest may have closed. This is why the advice is to call immediately rather than to watch and see.

• Medicines, especially painkillers and anything a child finds in a handbag.
• Paraffin, which is a leading cause of childhood poisoning here. Never store it in a cool drink bottle — that single habit accounts for a large share of cases.
• Household cleaners, bleach and drain cleaner. Do not induce vomiting; these burn on the way back up.
• Pesticides and rat poison, including illegal street pesticides, which are highly toxic and require urgent care.
• Carbon monoxide from braziers, paraffin heaters or generators used indoors — headache, nausea and drowsiness affecting several people in a room at once. Get everyone into fresh air and call for help.
• Snake bite and scorpion sting. Keep the person still, keep the bitten limb below heart level, do not cut or suck the wound, do not apply a tourniquet, and get to a hospital.

• Store medicines and chemicals high, out of sight, and in their original labelled containers.
• Never transfer paraffin or chemicals into drink bottles.
• Close child-resistant caps properly — they slow a child down, they do not stop one.
• Keep handbags and visitors' belongings out of reach.
• Return unused and expired medicines to a pharmacy rather than leaving them in the house.
• Save the Poisons Helpline number in your phone now, before you need it.