Get To Know webPOISONCONTROL! Its future depends on you

The Full Story

Free, expert guidance for poison emergencies by telephone has been the core service provided by Poison Control for over 70 years. More than 2 million people call annually because they know that expert advice, received immediately after being exposed to something that might be harmful, can be life-saving and cost-saving.

We've made it easy for you to get guidance through our telephone hotline service. One toll-free number (1-800-222-1222) dialed anywhere in the US connects you to your local poison center. For those who call Poison Control first, most cases are managed at home, without a trip to an ER. Now we want it to be easy for you to get help online, too, and we need your help to make that happen!

webPOISONCONTROL is an innovative tool and app that provides online poison control guidance. If you prefer to get information electronically, if you just don’t like talking on the telephone, if you don’t want to call a hotline because you aren’t sure if your case is an emergency, or if you are too embarrassed to call, webPOISONCONTROL is for you. (But please don't be embarrassed to call. Our services are always confidential).

To use the tool, go to webPOISONCONTROL.org and click on the orange "help me with a possible poisoning button". You will be prompted to answer a few simple questions:

• Substance (product name and strength if it is a medication) – you can scan the product barcode if you are using the mobile app
• Route (mouth, eye, skin, inhalation, injection, bite/sting)
• Amount
• Age
• Weight
• Symptoms
• Time since exposure
• Zip code
• Email (optional, but safer if you provide it because you'll get a summary of recommendations and a link to the follow-up module)

The median time it takes to get an automated, expert recommendation is just 2.5 minutes. Recommendations include:

• It's safe to stay home because toxicity is minimal.
• Go to an ER immediately.
• Call Poison Control for further guidance.

When it's safe to stay home, you will get a list of symptoms that might occur but are not of concern. You will also be given the specific symptoms that should trigger a call to Poison Control or an immediate visit to an ER. And just as with our telephone service, webPOISONCONTROL will even follow-up to be sure you are safe. After you get the initial recommendations, email reminders will link you to our follow-up module.

Over one million people have used webPOISONCONTROL to get expert help online in a poison emergency. Users love it. As the tool becomes more widely recognized as a trusted resource for poisonings, we expect it to be a game-changer.

Additional features are being developed as rapidly as funds allow and that's where your help is key. With your support, webPOISONCONTROL can reach its full potential and help more than a million people every year.

webPOISONCONTROL will increase access to poison control guidance and simultaneously decrease our cost to provide poisoning care. It's this win-win opportunity that has us so eager to share and improve the tool. Rather innovative, right? 

If Poison Control has ever helped you – if you've been one of our webPOISONCONTROL users or if we've helped you when you called – please help us. We need your support to enhance webPOISONCONTROL so it can help even more people.

Please donate. This project was built on generous donations, alone. Its future depends on you!