What to do if they swallow something they shouldn’t
(Sourced from: Tracey Taylor, British Red Cross’ First Aid Education Development Manager)
“Dishwasher tablets, a bottle of Calpol or the entire medicine cabinet – regardless of what it is, if your child has swallowed something they shouldn’t, the safest course of action is to get them to hospital as soon as possible.
Call an ambulance and try to establish as much information as possible. “What you know will inform what the medical professionals do and how they will proceed to treat it,” says Taylor. “Find out what it is, how much they’ve taken and when: have they just done it or was it an hour ago?” Finally, Taylor urges that you fight your instinct to make them sick. “If it’s done harm on the way down, which they often do as it could be corrosive or damaging to the throat and esophagus, and you make them vomit, you will do further harm on the way back up. It’s much better to wait till they’re at hospital where they will have the tools and medicine to get it out of the system in the best way.” From The Telegraph (UK)