Contacting the Poison Control Center
If you take nothing else away from this article, take this: 1-800-222-1222. This is the phone number to the Poison Control Center. Take a minute now and put it in your cell phone or write in your address book. You can also text the word poison to 797979 to add the contact to your phone. Poisoning questions are often an emergency. Don’t rely on yourself to remember the number in a time of panic. Don’t rely on your Google skils. You need to have this number at your fingertips at all times. Just in case. For less immediate needs, visit poisonhelp.org. This will take you to an interactive site where you can list what you were exposed to, and how. If there is an easy solution to your problem you can find it here without having to make the phone call.
Overview
There are 55 different Poison Control Centers throughout the United States. Each one serves and responds to poison emergencies and questions in their geographic area. When a patient calls the universal number 1-800-222-1222, they will automatically be routed to the Poison Control Center in their area. The centers are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by nurses, physicians, pharmacists, or other toxicology experts. The main purpose of the centers is to answer questions from consumers who have ingested or been exposed to medications or chemicals and fear that they might be harmed by the exposure. The professionals on staff can give information on what steps to take to deal with the exposure, and set expectations on what side effects might occur.
American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC)
The AAPCC is the organization that represents each of the Poison Control Centers in the United States. Some duties of the AAPCC include: providing accreditation of US Poison Control Centers, providing certification for the more than 1,700 personnel who staff the centers, maintaining the National Poison Data System, and working with federal agencies in researching national chemical or exposure issues. The AAPCC also works to help set regulatory policies to help improve public health and safety.
Non-Emergency Services
The Poison Control Centers all maintain websites where you can search through many different types of topics to educate yourself or others. Topics range from how to keep your home safe for your children, to protecting the elderly from medication errors, or even current topics such as vaping or cbd oil. If you have kids at home and they are asking you questions about alcohol, vaping, opioids, or any type of substance abuse, you might go to the Poison Control Center website to find information and learn how to discuss it with your child.
One of the most useful sites I have found is the one run by the Poison Control Center in Washington D.C. This site has a lot of great searchable information. They have articles in a blog-style format that you can use to read up on threats. There is a pill identifier on the site if you find a pill and aren’t sure what it is. There is a quarterly newsletter called the Poison Post, which I have received for years. They even have a podcast now which has a lot of information about opioids, among other things.
When Should I Call the Poison Control Center?
My advice here is: when in doubt, CALL. If you even think about calling the number, go ahead and do it. Why take any unnecessary risk? Some people feel embarrassed about what they have accidentally done, or what their child has ingested. Don’t be. I assure you, whatever it is, they have heard worse.
Here is a good example of a referral I made. I had a friend call me at work, we will call her “Renee” to protect her identity. Renee has a dog who takes two medications every morning and Renee also has two medications she takes every morning. Well, in her morning rush to get to work, Renee accidentally took her dog’s medication! She tracked me down at work and told me how embarrassed she was about the error, but she was also a little concerned that this medication might harm her. One of the medications was a “human” medication that we dispense but one was a pet-specific medicine that I was unfamiliar with. I researched the ingredient in the pet med and told her I was fairly certain she was not at risk, but that she should call the poison control center to remove all doubt. Turns out, she was fine and we all got a good laugh out of the situation. Although I did hear a rumor that she now has a certain love of tennis balls that she didn’t have before…
If your kid has a peanut allergy and eats something that you think might have peanuts (but aren’t sure): call. If your kid eats a plant or some berries from a bush outside: call. If your kid drinks something from a bottle under the sink: call. If you accidentally take a double dose of one of your medications: call. If you have pills in your weekly pill box that you can’t identify: call. You see where I am going here…..don’t take chances. Consult the expert.
For general information consult the online resources before you call the emergency line. Those lines do need to stay clear for emergencies. Medication disposal is a common question received by the centers. To learn more about safe medication disposal check here.
What to Expect When You Call
When you dial the poison control phone number 1-800-222-1222 you go into an automated menu that gives you the option to choose whether you are a health care professional, or if you have an emergency. Select option 2 for emergency. A poison specialist will quickly come on the line and ask how they can help. From there, simply describe your question or concern and the specialist will have access to a large database of ingestion or poisoning information to help answer your question. This is not just limited to medication. You can inquire about any number of household products or plants in your yard that may have been consumed by children or pets.
Vomiting Is Not the Answer
When I was growing up, everyone believed that if you ingested something you shouldn’t have, then you should force vomiting to get the “poison” out of your system. Every household was supposed to contain a bottle of syrup of Ipecac. This is a liquid that will immediately induce vomiting. Every kid feared having to drink it, and always threatened to sneak it to their brother or sister to make them throw up. Toxicology has come a long way since then. Now we know that vomiting is not always the answer, in fact it is usually the wrong answer. Some poisons do a lot of damage on the way down and can do equal or more damage on the way back up. Recommendations can now include taking a neutralizing agent, seeking medical attention, or just informing that patient of what symptoms to be aware of that would call for further action.
Conclusion
Now you have the knowledge you need about what the Poison Control Center is and when to contact them. This can be a useful tool for you if you ever need it. Hopefully, there won’t be many times that you need to call. Comments or questions are welcome either below this article or in the Helpful Pharmacist contact link.