What are poisons?

Poisons are things that can make people sick or even die if they get into the body or onto the skin.

Poisons can be:

chemicals used around the house or garden

drugs or chemicals from plants

found in insects bites or stings

smoke or fumes in the air, which may be breathed into the body

How poisons can get into your body

There are four main ways that poisons can get into the body.

1. Through the mouth and swallowing it.
2. Absorbed through the skin
3. By injection – including bites and stings
4. By breathing in, or inhaling [say in-hay-ling]

If some has been poisoned – through the skin

Some poisons can be absorbed [get into the body] through the skin [eg poisons from some plants, some chemicals used round the garden, and some cleaning powders eg dishwasher powder].

To care for someone who has been in contact with poison:

Immediately wash off that area of their body with lots of water. You can use a fast running tap or hose.

If there is a powder on the skin that might be a poison, brush off the powder – use a tissue or cloth not your hand, then wash the rest of it away.

Dishwasher powders are made more dangerous by water so brush off really carefully before using fast running water which will get the powder off without doing too much harm.

Do not put anything on the affected skin unless you have been told to by the Poisons Information Centre.

If the poison has made the skin red, sore or blistered, your friend needs to be checked by a doctor or nurse.

Sometimes powder or other chemicals can get into the eyes where they can cause a lot of damage.

If someone does get something into his eyes, wash the powder out of the eyes with lots of water and keep on doing this until someone arrives to help you.
If there is no adult around to help, then call for an ambulance and follow the instructions given to you over the phone.