1. Slideshow: Surprising Reasons You're in Pain
2. Take the Pain Quiz!
3. Slideshow: Good and Bad Exercises for Low Back Pain

Medical Author:

Hanan Al Hammadi, MD

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

View Full Profile

If a drug overdose is discovered or suspected, and the victim is unconscious, having convulsions, not breathing, or is otherwise seriously ill, call 911 immediately (or the local emergency phone number) for medical help.

If the person who took the drug is not having symptoms, do not wait to see if symptoms develop. Call the local poison control center immediately. It is a good idea to post the telephone number of the local poison control center near the phone. This information can be found at: American Association of Poison Control Centers. Or call (800) 222-1222 if you have a poisoning emergency.

Providing as much information as possible to the poison control center can help determine what the next course of action should be; these questions are not unique to aspirin poisoning, but are used for almost all cases of poisoning.

The poison control center, paramedics, and emergency department staff will want to know the following information:

• What medications were taken? Try to locate the medication's container.
• Precisely what is the medication that was taken; what is its name; how many milligrams (mg) is each pill?
• How much of the medication was taken?
• When was the medication taken?
• Was the medication taken with alcohol or any other drugs or chemicals?
• What is the person's age?
• What symptoms are present?
• Is the person conscious?
• Is the person breathing?
• What medical conditions does the person have?

Although ipecac syrup was used commonly in the past to make a patient vomit, it is rarely recommended today. It would not be suggested in aspirin poisoning due to the chance that the patient might develop altered mental status or convulsions.

Must Read Articles Related to Aspirin Poisoning

Activated Charcoal Activated charcoal is a substance used when a person has ingested a poison (drugs or chemicals). Activated charcoal absorbs the poisons in the GI tract. Activat...learn more >>

Poison Proofing Your Home Poison proofing your home is one of the most important ways to protect your family and pets from an accidental poisoning from solids (pills, plants, fertilizers...learn more >>

Poisoning Poisoning can have serious signs or symptoms including nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing, seizure, confusion, or pain. The National Poisong Control Center pho...learn more >>

See the Entire Aspirin Poisoning Topic Guide »