Poison Control: What to Do If Your Child Swallows Something Dangerous

Every year, over 2 million poisoning cases are reported to poison control centers in the United States, and more than half involve children under 6. Toddlers between 1 and 3 are at the highest risk because they explore everything with their mouths, can open cabinets and containers with increasing skill, and are developmentally incapable of understanding that something can look appealing and be dangerous. A child can find and ingest a harmful substance in the time it takes you to answer a text message. Knowing what to do before it happens — and having a plan ready — is essential.

Immediate Steps

If your child has swallowed something potentially dangerous, stay calm and act quickly. Your composure helps you think clearly and keeps your child calmer, which matters if they need to cooperate with treatment. Remove the substance from your child's reach and from the reach of any other children in the area. Check your child's mouth and gently remove any remaining substance you can see — don't do a blind finger sweep, which can push material deeper into the throat.

Do not make your child vomit unless specifically instructed to do so by Poison Control. This is critically important. Induced vomiting can cause additional harm with many substances — caustic chemicals burn the esophagus a second time coming back up, petroleum products can be aspirated into the lungs during vomiting, and sharp objects can cause tearing. The old advice to keep ipecac syrup in the house has been abandoned by every major medical organization for this reason.

Identify the substance as precisely as possible. Keep the container and note the product name, active ingredients, concentration, and your best estimate of how much was ingested. Check your child's mouth for residue, burns, or unusual odor. Note the time you discovered the ingestion and any symptoms your child is showing. This information helps Poison Control give you the most accurate guidance.

Who to Call

Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222

Call Poison Control for any suspected ingestion when the child is conscious and breathing normally. This number connects you to your regional poison control center, staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by pharmacists, nurses, and physicians with specialized toxicology training. They can tell you whether the ingestion is dangerous based on the specific substance, amount, and your child's weight, and provide step-by-step guidance on what to do next.

Save this number in your phone right now — not after you need it. Many cases don't require an ER visit, and Poison Control can save you a costly, stressful, hours-long trip when the substance isn't actually dangerous at the amount ingested. They can also tell you exactly what symptoms to watch for and when they would change their recommendation to "go to the ER now." If the situation does require emergency care, they'll call ahead to the hospital with information about the substance so the ER team is prepared when you arrive.

Call 911 If

Call 911 rather than Poison Control if your child is unconscious or difficult to rouse, if they're having seizures, if they're having difficulty breathing or their breathing sounds abnormal, if you know they've ingested a highly toxic substance in a dangerous amount, or if they've collapsed. Don't drive to the ER yourself if the child is unstable — paramedics can provide treatment en route that you can't provide in a car, and they can alert the receiving hospital before arrival.

Save this number now: Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222. Post it on your refrigerator, save it in your phone, and make sure every caregiver knows it.

Most Dangerous Household Items

Medications

Adult medications are the leading cause of serious childhood poisoning and the number one cause of poisoning death in children. The most dangerous include iron supplements (which cause severe gastrointestinal damage and liver failure), calcium channel blockers used for blood pressure (one or two tablets can be lethal to a toddler), sulfonylurea diabetes medications (which cause life-threatening low blood sugar), opioid pain medications, and tricyclic antidepressants. Even common over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) can cause fatal liver damage in overdose.

Grandparent homes are a particular risk because medications may be stored in easy-open weekly pill organizers rather than child-resistant bottles, and grandparents may take more medications that are dangerous to children. When visiting or hosting grandparents, specifically check that all medications are stored out of reach.

Cleaning Products

Laundry detergent pods are one of the most significant poisoning risks for toddlers because they're colorful, squishy, and look exactly like candy. They burst on contact and can cause severe eye injuries, chemical burns to the mouth and throat, and respiratory distress if the concentrated detergent is inhaled or aspirated. Store them in a locked cabinet, not on a shelf above the washer where they can be reached by climbing. Drain cleaners and oven cleaners are extremely caustic and cause immediate chemical burns. Dishwasher detergent is significantly more caustic than regular dish soap.

Button Batteries

Button batteries deserve special, urgent attention because the timeline for serious injury is shockingly fast. A button battery lodged in the esophagus begins generating an electrical current that creates sodium hydroxide — essentially lye — at the site of contact. This causes severe chemical burns within 2 hours and can perforate the esophagus, leading to life-threatening bleeding and infection. Button battery ingestion is a true emergency: if you suspect your child has swallowed one, go directly to the ER. Do not wait for symptoms. Give honey (for children over 1 year) on the way to the hospital — research shows honey helps slow the burn process.

Other High-Risk Items

Essential oils can cause seizures, liver damage, and respiratory distress in children. Hand sanitizer contains enough alcohol to cause dangerous intoxication in a toddler. Nicotine products including patches, gum, and especially liquid nicotine for e-cigarettes are highly toxic. Windshield washer fluid contains methanol, which causes blindness and organ failure. Antifreeze tastes sweet and causes kidney failure.

Related: When to Take Your Child to the ER

Prevention

Prevention is far more effective than response. Store all medications in locked cabinets or containers — not just "up high," because toddlers climb. Use child-resistant caps and close them properly every time, but recognize they're child-resistant, not childproof — a determined toddler can often defeat them within minutes. Keep products in their original labeled containers so poison control can identify exactly what was ingested. Never transfer chemicals to food or drink containers.

Store purses, bags, and coats containing medications out of reach — many poisonings happen when a child finds a grandparent's purse or a visitor's bag. Install cabinet safety locks in kitchens and bathrooms. Keep the Poison Control number posted visibly and programmed into every caregiver's phone. Do a "hands and knees" check of your home — crawl through at toddler height and look for anything accessible that shouldn't be. Check after every visitor, every grocery delivery, and every time you use a cleaning product.

Talk to your child about poison safety in age-appropriate terms starting around age 2 to 3: "We only eat food that Mommy or Daddy gives us. We don't eat things we find." While toddlers can't fully internalize this, starting the conversation builds awareness that develops over time.