Everyone wants to be prepared for an emergency, but most people tend to prepare only for the emergencies that never actually happen and forget to prepare for the ones that actually might. Who among us doesn’t have a hand-crank radio and a few bottles of water in the basement, just in case of a nuclear attack or the odd typhoon? We’re ready with duct tape and plastic sheeting for these hypothetical catastrophes, yet sometimes are totally unaware of the simple measures needed to address common emergencies in the home. Poisoning is one of those situations that can seem too far-fetched to plan for, but it’s not as rare as people think. In 2007, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported almost 2.5 million cases of household poisonings called in to their hotlines, and the Centers for Disease Control reported that in 2005, accidental poisoning was the second-most-common unintentional death, after automobile accidents. With houses everywhere full of harmful chemicals and cleaners, poison is something that everyone should know about—what to do and, more important, what not to do.
Signs of Sickness
When people think of poisons, they likely conjure up images of scary substances like anthrax, ricin, or teterodotoxin, and scenes of international espionage. While those threats are surely deadly, they’re not scenarios that most of us need to worry about, unless we regularly eat poorly prepared sushi or are Russian journalists. We’re more likely to be poisoned by things that we handle every day—drain cleaner, bleach, antifreeze, medicines, and other household hazards. These substances present no danger when they’re handled correctly, and while it’s unlikely that a sentient adult would willingly toss back a glass of dishwashing detergent, children and pets don’t always know better, and even among adults, mix-ups and accidents do happen.
Chemical poisons attack the body in different ways and cause a variety of symptoms, but the signs of mild poisoning usually include things like headache, nausea, loss of appetite, dizziness, perspiration, and thirst. Consumption of a more dangerous chemical or larger quantities of poison can result in severe nausea, diarrhea, or stomach cramps, trembling or muscle twitches, confusion, blurred vision, and extreme weakness. Severe poisoning presents with symptoms like intense thirst, quickened breathing, uncontrollable muscle spasms, dilated or constricted pupils, seizures, and unconsciousness.
