Poisoning
The most common form of poisoning in the UK is from medication.
The advice below should reduce the risk of accidental poisoning by medication:
Children under five years of age have a particularly high risk of poisoning. The advice below should reduce the risk for your children:
If you have young children, be extra careful when you have guests to stay or when you go to visit other people. If your friends and relatives don't have children, they may not keep certain items out of reach and their home is unlikely to be childproof.
Keep an eye on your children at all times and politely ask guests to keep items such as alcohol and cigarettes out of their reach.
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For more information about preventing specific types of poisoning see:
Read about the signs and symptoms of poisoning and find out what to do if you think someone has been poisoned.
Read about the symptoms of poisoning, which will depend on the particular substance and how much you take in.
Find out what to do if you think someone has swallowed a poisonous substance, plus how to help someone who's been poisoned and is conscious or unconscious.
Reduce the risk of poisoning by taking simple measures, such as making sure harmful substances are kept out of sight and out reach of young children.