Aspirin overdose

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Aspirin overdose

Alternative Names:

Acetylsalicylic acid overdose; Aspergum overdose; Bufferin overdose; Ecotrin overdose
Before Calling Emergency:

Determine the following information:

Patient's age, weight, and condition
Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
Time it was swallowed
Amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number:

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The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the emergency room.

What to expect at the emergency room:

The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure. Lab tests may be done to determine how much aspirin is in the blood.

The patient may receive:

Fluids
Medicines to treat symptoms
Activated charcoal
Laxative
A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
Artificial respiration

Expectations (prognosis):

How well a patient doesdepends on how much aspirin is in theblood. Levels ranging from150 mg/kg to 300 mg/kgcan be dangerous, depending on the person's weight.

A person is more likely to recover if proper medical treatment is quickly received.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).