The plethora of potential toxins that our patients ingest means that there is no way that you can memorise the approach to treating every single toxicity.

Fortunately, having a standard approach to potential toxicoses will serve you well, since the basic principles can be applied across any possible ingestion. This includes taking a thorough history to understand what was ingested and to determine the likely risk of toxicosis. Early after ingestion decontamination is key; we will discuss inducing emesis, administration of activated charcoal, with or without a cathartic, more aggressive decontamination such as gastric lavage, as well as the role of intravenous lipid emulsion. Specific antidotes, and empirical treatment for classic toxidromes, such as seizures, muscle tremors, and arrhythmias will also be covered.