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Global Epidemiology of Acute Poisoning...

The substances used in poisonings vary depending on the area and the culture. Typical agents used in poisonings include, pesticides, rodenticides, herbicides, pharmaceutical products, household chemicals, foods, alcohols, plants, traditional medicines and illegal street drugs. Over the last few decades, agricultural pesticides have become the main source of poisoning in the developing world...

Household products and chemicals, like paraffin, cleaning agents such as bleach and cetrimide, acids and bases used for drain cleaning, shampoos and soaps, disinfectants such as potassium permanganate and creosote; are the most toxic chemicals that can potentially be involved in acute poisoning…

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Featured

  Find Your Local Poison Control Center

Program the Poison Help Number – 1-800-222-1222 – into your home and cell phones so you have it handy when you need it.

  Poison Control

The mission of the Poison Center is to prevent poisonings, save lives, and limit injury from poisoning. In addition to saving lives, the Center decreases health care costs of poisoning cases.

  TOXBASE

The primary clinical toxicology database of the National Poisons Information Service.

 The Best: Deadly Poisons, Ingested or Inhaled

Botulinum (ingested) It’s hard to rank the lethality of toxins, but experts agree that botulinum – several orders of magnitude deadlier than sarin – is the gold standard. Your nervous system fails and you die in extreme pain. Works miracles on wrinkles, though.

Articles of Interest

The day I was asked to poison someone

I wasn’t allowed to know who, but the screenwriter wanted me to poison and kill off one of the soap characters.

Illegal Pot Farms Are Poisoning California’s Forests

Secret growers are taking advantage of the state’s remote stretches of public land—and the environmental impact is severe.

The Toxins That Threaten Our Brains

Leading scientists recently identified a dozen chemicals as being responsible for widespread behavioral and cognitive problems. But the scope of the chemical dangers in our environment is likely even greater. Why children and the poor are most susceptible to neurotoxic exposure that may be costing the U.S. billions of dollars and immeasurable peace of mind.

A Brief History of Women Putting Poison in Their Lovers' Food

For many reasons—money, jealousy, or even a way out of an abusive relationship—poison has remained an effective weapon for women throughout history.

A Global Overview of Poison Treatment Apps and Databases

Acute poisoning is a serious health problem that is associated with high mortality. Management of acute poisoning cases in the critical care settings is the biggest challenge due to the difficulty in identification of poison involved. Immediate information about the poisoning and its management is crucial in the early diagnosis, treatment, and in the prevention of poisoning complications.

A Growing Number of Young People Are Attempting Suicide by Self-Poisoning

In most cases, the young people used substances that were easy to find and access. The most commonly abused substance was acetaminophen, followed by ibuprofen, then atypical antipsychotics—like aripiprazole—which are increasingly prescribed not only for psychosis, but also for more-common cases of depression.

Death by Poison - A New American Epidemic

This increase in poisoning isn’t from accidental ingestion of mushrooms or lead or some other environmental toxin. It’s from accidental overdoses. And those overdoses mainly arise from one culprit - opiates.

Everything you need to know about ricin poison

Ricin is one of the most poisonous substances on Earth and it's scarily easy to make.

Farms, More Productive Than Ever, Are Poisoning Drinking Water in Rural America

One in seven Americans drink from private wells, which are being polluted by contaminants from manure and fertilizer.

For Young Kids, Medicine Poisoning Can Happen Faster Than You Think

According to a report released this week by Safe Kids, a young child goes to the emergency room for accidental medicine poisoning 67,000 times a year. That's one child every eight minutes -- a 30 percent increase over the past ten years.

How to Cook Without Giving Anyone Food Poisoning

You're probably going to be fine, but let's cover the basics just in case.

How to Minimize the Risk of Food Poisoning

Don’t assume that because the food was locally grown or from a farmers’ market, it’s free of potential hazards. Large producers operate under strict rules to prevent contamination; small local farmers may not adhere to the same constraints.

Litvinenko poisoning: polonium explained

Polonium is one of the most toxic substances known. According to some sources, it is up to a trillion times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide. It is radioactive because it emits alpha particles (helium ions). Because these are easily absorbed by other materials, even by a few thin sheets of paper or by a few centimetres of air, polonium has to be inside your body to damage you.

Love Canal and the Poisoning of America

"Industry has shown laxity, not infrequently to the point of criminal negligence, in soiling the land and adulterating the waters with its toxins." So says a recent report from a House investigative subcommittee. The report adds that as deposits of dangerous industrial wastes proliferate, the authority charged with eliminating the hazards, the Environmental Protection Agency, has done little to search out such sites and compel offending companies to clean them up.

Moonshine Poisoning Is Still a Massive, Deadly Problem Worldwide

After nearly a hundred people were killed by drinking bootleg liquor in Mumbai over the weekend, it's hard not to wonder when the problem of poisonous booze will end.

Poison Panic

Arsenic – more properly arsenic trioxide – is a highly poisonous white powder. It was very cheap, a by-product of metal industries, and ordinary Victorians could buy it from their local chemist, or even their grocer, as poison for rats and mice. It had little or no flavour – Robert Christison, daredevil toxicologist, had put some on his tongue, and discovered that it had a very slight sweet taste. Mix it in with gruel or stew, and the recipient would be none the wiser.

Popularizing Controversial Science: A Popular Treatise on Poisons by Mateu Orfila (1818)

In the nineteenth century toxicologists participated as experts in criminal poisoning trials and wrote reports at the request of judges and lawyers. In court, they were expected to provide expert advice to lay audiences (juries, judges, lawyers) and, as their conclusions could be decisive in establishing the final verdict...

The 'Horrifying' Consequence of Lead Poisoning

Exposure to the toxin leads to higher risk of miscarriages, new research finds, in addition to other long-lasting effects.

The Chemist’s War

The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition with deadly consequences.

The Chemist’s War

The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition with deadly consequences.

The History of Poison

Listen on Apple Podcasts...

The Poisoning of an American City

The first thing many residents noticed after water from the Flint River began flowing through their taps was the color. Blue one day, tinted green the next, sometimes shades of beige, brown, yellow. Then there was the smell.

Tips to Prevent Poisonings

Safety Tips for You, Your Family, and Friends...Unless noted, the safety tips were adapted from the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ poison prevention tips for children and adults

We’re closer to learning when humans first daubed arrows with poison

The early use of poison is one more indicator of an advanced repertoire of behavioural and technological traits that have characterised our species from the earliest times. The problem is that it’s not easy to identify the remnants of ancient poisons.

When It's Not Poisoning Us, the U.S. Water System Is Robbing Us Blind

People can go into such extreme debt over unpaid water bills—even incorrect ones—that they lose their homes.

Young people are poisoning themselves at alarming rates with over-the-counter drugs

There’s been a dramatic uptick in self-poisonings, particularly among girls and young women. There are ways to help.

Resources

Poison Help

When accidents happen with chemicals, medicine, or household items, call Poison Help. Get help right away from a local poison expert. If someone is unconscious or has trouble breathing, call 911.

The Poison Blog

Barbarajean (BJ) Magnani, PhD, MD, FCAP, is internationally recognized for her expertise in clinical chemistry and toxicology, has been named a “Top Doctor” in Boston magazine and was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Laboratory Medicine Professionals in the World by The Pathologist.

9 Things You Didn't Know About Poison

Here are nine little-known facts about poison you can impress your relatives with over Thanksgiving dinner. Or not.

Earth's Most Poisonous Plants

Some common species rank as the deadliest plants in the world.

National Poisons Information Service

The role of the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) is to reduce the burden of healthcare associated with poisoning by the provision of rapidly available, consistent and evidence-based advice to front-line NHS healthcare professionals.

The Poison Post

It's a free, quarterly e-newsletter that will help keep you and your family safe from poison.

The Poison Review

Welcome to The Poison Review, a critical update and evaluation of recent scientific literature, news stories, and cultural events related to the field of medical toxicology. Our interests are wide-ranging and eclectic, since we take our philosophy from Paracelsus, often called the father of toxicology: “All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.”

The Toxic Web

A directory of toxicology sites on the Internet.

Toxipedia

Toxipedia is a free toxicology encyclopedia offering articles and resources about toxic chemicals (such as pesticides and endocrine disruptors), health conditions, ethical considerations, the history of toxicology, laws and regulation, and more.

TOXNET

Your resource for searching databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases.

WikiTox

The purpose of WikiTox is to create a repository of information where individuals can upload teaching material to be used freely by individuals and other teachers. It is not intended to get complete consensus in the material as toxicology deals with diverse problems and approaches.

Pet Poison Helpline

Did your dog or cat just eat something poisonous? Call your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline immediately. The sooner a dog poisoning or cat poisoning is diagnosed, the easier, less expensive, and safer it is to treat your pet.

American Association of Poison Control Centers

The American Association of Poison Control Centers supports the nation’s 55 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures. Poison centers offer free, confidential medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. This service provides a primary resource for poisoning information and helps reduce costly emergency department visits through in-home treatment.

American College of Medical Toxicology

Welcome to the Podcast page for ACMT. This is an ever expanding and growing section.

Animal Poison Control

We are your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think that your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435.

California Poison Control System

The California Poison Control System (CPCS) provides immediate, free and expert treatment advice and referral over the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous or toxic substances. Pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and poison information providers answer the calls to 1-800-222-1222 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Language interpreters are always available.

eMedicineHealth

Poison is anything that kills or injures through its chemical actions. Most poisons are swallowed (ingested). The word poison comes from the Latin word - potare - meaning to drink. But poisons can also enter the body in other ways: Poisons include highly toxic chemicals not meant for human ingestion or contact, such as cyanide, paint thinners, or household cleaning products. Many poisons, however, are substances meant for humans to eat, including foods and medicines.

EMSA

If you suspect a poisoning, you need to act quickly. When you know the source of the toxic exposure, use the guidelines...

MayoClinic

If you suspect poisoning, be alert for clues such as empty pill bottles or packages, scattered pills, and burns, stains and odors on the person or nearby objects. With a child, consider the possibility that he or she may have applied medicated patches or swallowed a button battery.

NHS

Being poisoned can be life threatening. If someone has swallowed a poisonous substance, do not try to treat them yourself. Seek medical help immediately.

WHO

Poisoning is a significant global public health problem...