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Poisoning: what to do at home and when to call

Most food poisoning resolves in a day or two on water and rest. The danger is not the vomiting itself but the dehydration it causes — and the special cases: mushrooms, medicines, household chemicals and alcohol substitutes, where hours matter.

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What to do right now

Stop eating
The first 6–12 hours: fluids only. Hunger does no harm; food provokes vomiting.
Drink often and in small amounts
A rehydration solution from the pharmacy, or one litre of water with a teaspoon of salt and 4–6 spoons of sugar. Two or three sips every 5–10 minutes, even if nauseous.
Take a sorbent
Activated charcoal, one tablet per 10 kg of weight, or smectite. Not together with other medicines — the sorbent will absorb them too.
Do not stop diarrhoea in the first hours
It is how the body removes the toxin. Anti-diarrhoeals only on a doctor’s advice.
Watch for dehydration
Dry mouth, no urine for 6–8 hours, weakness on standing; in a child — no tears, sunken eyes. That is the point for a drip.

Call an ambulance if

Vomiting or diarrhoea with blood, black stools
Signs of dehydration in a child, an elderly person or a pregnant woman
Fever above 39 °C together with diarrhoea
Poisoning by mushrooms, home-canned food, unknown substances or medicines
Blurred or double vision, difficulty swallowing or speaking after canned food — signs of botulism
Severe abdominal pain unrelated to the urge to go
Unable to keep fluids down for more than 4–6 hours

What not to do

Do not induce vomiting after swallowing acids, alkalis or petrol, or in an unconscious person
Do not give potassium permanganate or milk "to neutralise"
Do not take antibiotics without a doctor
Do not drink alcohol "to disinfect"

What the crew does

Examination, assessment of dehydration, temperature, abdomen
Gastric lavage by tube if less than 2–3 hours have passed
Intravenous fluids, anti-emetics, antispasmodics
Admission for severe poisoning — in Moscow, the Sklifosovsky Institute, City Hospital 33, and Morozovskaya or Filatovskaya for children

This page is for information and does not replace a medical examination. If the condition worsens, call the crew: +7 (985) 887-82-52.

This page in Russian: Russian version.

Questions

Can I wash out the stomach at home?

An adult who is fully conscious and poisoned by food may drink 2–3 glasses of water and induce vomiting within the first hours. Children under five, chemical poisoning and unconscious patients — never; only by tube, by a crew.

How much does a call-out for poisoning cost in Moscow?

Call-out 6,000 ₽ inside the MKAD; infusion, lavage and anti-emetics by the price list. The dispatcher tells you the cost before the crew leaves.

When does a child need a drip?

If you cannot get fluids in, there has been no urine for 8 hours, or the child is lethargic. The crew can place the drip at home.