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A poison is anything that someone swallows or breathes or that gets into the eyes or on the skin and that causes sickness or death. Some poisons are harmful if you breathe or swallow them, while others are harmful upon direct contact.
CAUSES: Alcohol, drugs, cleaning products, food (contaminated water, mishandled food), pesticides, plants (i.e., poison ivy), poisonous liquids, poisonous gases.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: Burning around the lips and tongue, burning or tearing of eyes, change of consciousness, chest or abdominal pain, diarrhea, hallucinations, irregular pupil size, nausea and vomiting, skin color change, seizures, headache, dizziness, weakness, troubled breathing.
SWALLOWED POISONS: These poisons enter the body by swallowing and can include food, drugs, alcohol, household and cleaning products, pesticides, plants and more. Some substances may not be poisonous if taken in a small quantity.
INHALED POISON: A person can also be poisoned by breathing in poison, like certain fumes and gases. Examples include: carbon monoxide (car exhaust), carbon dioxide (from sewers, wells), chlorine (found in swimming pools), glues and paints.
ABSORBED POISONS: These poisons are absorbed through the skin, and include: plants (poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac), fertilizers, pesticides and more.
INJECTED POISON: An injected poison enters the body through bites or stings of insects, spiders, ticks, snakes, and/or through medical hypodermic needles.
