Poisoning is a condition that requires prompt and appropriate treatment. Therefore, you need to know how to deal with poisoning, so that you can help provide first aid before medical help arrives.
Before getting medical treatment, there are several ways to deal with poisoning that can be done as first aid. This aims to prevent the condition of the poisoned patient from getting worse, including life-threatening risks.
How to Overcome Poisoning
Poisoning occurs when a person swallows, inhales, or touches a substance that is harmful to the body. Symptoms of poisoning include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, reddened skin, blue lips, convulsions, and loss of consciousness.
If someone around you has symptoms of poisoning, stay calm and contact the nearest hospital immediately. While waiting for help, you can provide first aid according to the cause of poisoning experienced:
Swallowed poison
In the case of ingested poison, here's how to deal with it:
- Ask the patient to spit out any remaining poison in the mouth. However, do not force the sufferer to vomit the poison that has been swallowed, because it can be dangerous.
- If the patient vomits accidentally, clean his mouth and throat immediately. The trick, wrap a clean cloth on your fingers and hands, then use your fingers to clean the mouth and throat.
- If the patient is unconscious, try to wake him up, then ask him to spit out the remaining poison that is still in his mouth.
- While waiting for medical help to arrive, lay the patient in an inclined position to the left and provide a pillow or support for his back. Pull and bend the leg that is above towards the front. This position is called the recovery position (recovery position).
- If the poisoned victim is conscious, ask him to sit down and make sure the patient remains conscious until the medical team arrives.
- If the hazardous substance gets on the patient's clothes or skin, clean it immediately.
- If the poisoned victim is not breathing, perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if you know how.
Inhaled poison
For the case of inhaled poison, here are the first aids you can do:
- If the patient inhales toxins from polluted air, such as carbon monoxide gas, immediately take him out of the location to breathe cleaner air.
- If the patient vomits lying down, tilt his head to the side to prevent choking.
- If the patient is unresponsive, has stopped breathing, or is not breathing, perform CPR while waiting for medical help to arrive.
Poison that hits the skin
To deal with toxins that hit the skin, here are the steps that need to be done:
- If the skin is exposed to toxic substances, immediately remove the clothing worn using gloves.
- Clean the skin from toxins by washing it with soap and water for 15-20 minutes.
- If the skin condition seems to be getting worse or has swelling, seek medical help immediately at the nearest hospital.
Poisoning can happen anywhere. Therefore, we need to know how to handle it properly, so that people with poisoning can be treated immediately while seeking or waiting for medical help.
