You are a new EMT in a very busy urban EMS system. Before joining this agency, you worked as a volunteer in a rural EMS system, where you did not experience many EMS calls. You are working with a seasoned EMT when you are requested to respond to a residential home for an unresponsive 13-year-old male patient. Upon your arrival, the family escorts you into the garage, where the boy is being cradled by his crying mother. The boy is unresponsive. As you draw nearer to the boy, your partner says to you, 'Hey, you smell that moth ball smell? I know what might be going on.' Given your partner's statement, how might the odor be related to the patient's condition?

Toxicological emergencies are caused by substances that impair health or cause death by entering the body or touching the skin. These emergencies include: intentional overdose, unintentional poisoning, occupational exposure, environmental hazards, envenomation, biologic and chemical warfare, and radiation illness.  Toxicological emergencies are often complex and require a deep understanding of pharmacology. For example, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause mild to severe symptoms, including headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, seizure, and coma. Other important findings in poisoning may... Show more

Toxicological emergencies are caused by substances that impair health or cause death by entering the body or touching the skin. These emergencies include:
intentional overdose, unintentional poisoning, occupational exposure, environmental hazards, envenomation, biologic and chemical warfare, and radiation illness. 

Toxicological emergencies are often complex and require a deep understanding of pharmacology. For example, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause mild to severe symptoms, including headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, seizure, and coma. Other important findings in poisoning may include: muscle rigidity, tremors, and fasciculations. 
 

Here are some tips for treating poisonings:
For poisons taken internally:
Look into the victim's mouth and remove all tablets, powder, or any material that is present
Examine the mouth for cuts, burns, swelling, unusual coloring, or odor 

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