fandomhigh | First Aid for Fandom

"Last week," Hannibal began, "we covered venomous animals. However, there are other methods by which toxins can enter the body. Poisons can be ingested, absorbed through the skin, breathed in - there are any number of ways a person can be poisoned. And there are any number of sorts of poisons.

"Humans in general may be poisoned by some substances - things that cause disruptions in the nervous or circulatory system, in particular. Individuals may also be sensitive to things - allergic reactions are not poisoning, per se, but may present similarly and some of the initial treatments may be similar."

Frederick today looked fairly normal to start. Until Hannibal pressed buttons and started pointing things out.

"Some of the signs of ingested poison may include burning or redness around the lips, and breath that smells of chemicals. A contact poison may show as redness, blisters, or burns on the skin. Any sort of poison may induce difficulty breathing, and vomiting." He held up a hand. "I'm not showing you that one." He liked his shoes. You were all welcome. "Peridot and anybody else unfamiliar with vomiting, I can show you a video of it. In addition, the person may be drowsy, confused, hallucinating, or otherwise mentally impaired."

He paused for a moment. "You may note that many of these symptoms also occur with drunkenness. That would be because intoxication is a form of mild - albeit often desired - poisoning. Not every poison is necessarily bad. You will want to immediately get help if the person is unconscious or unresponsive, having difficulty breathing, having a seizure or other uncontrollable physical reactions, or if they state outright they have poisoned themselves."

He shrugged. "That last is perhaps more common than you might think, particularly when a person has overdosed - that is, ingested something intentionally that would be safe in smaller doses, but they've taken in too much of it for their system. Alcohol and recreational drugs, as well as medications are frequent substances involved with that.

"When you call for help, be ready to describe the person's symptoms, their species, age, weight, and other physical conditions, and if possible what you think they may have been poisoned with. If they cannot tell you themselves, look for clues."

Unless someone intelligent had done the poisoning; then there wouldn't be any. Hannibal wasn't going to mention that part.

"Now, until you can get them to help, or help to them - if you suspect they have swallowed something, remove anything remaining in their mouth, and if you know what it is, see if you can find instructions for what to do - if there is a container of it nearby, there may be a label. Otherwise, you may be able to look it up, although do be careful with your sources; it's important to know if inducing vomiting or having them drink water will be helpful or harmful. If you suspect a contact poison, remove any contaminated clothing, being careful not to touch it with your own skin, and rinse them well. If it's something they've inhaled, get them to fresh air as soon as possible. And do try not to breathe anything toxic yourself.

"If they begin to vomit, turn or lower their head to prevent them from choking. If they stop breathing, go through the same steps as you would for CPR normally. If you are able to flush the poison from their skin, treat the burns as you would normally. Again, it is a matter of largely treating the symptoms until help arrives."

He waved at the rest of the room, which instead of a city became a series of apartments, open on one side so they could see in. "Each person in these apartments has been poisoned by something in them. Find out what it is, and do your best to keep them alive."