Medical Reference for Common OTC Prescription and Drugs

Synopsis of Important Principles 1. Specific antidotal therapy is available for very few poisons. The mainstay of treatment of severe poisoning is intensive supportive therapy and good nursing care. 2. The great majority of poisoned patients recover with intensive supportive therapy alone, and enthusiastic claims for the success of other treatment often cannot be justified. [...]

Read more...



Gastric Aspiration and Lavage Although unabsorbed drug in the stomach may be removed by gastric aspiration and lavĀ­age its usefulness in practice has been seriously questioned (Proudfoot 1984). Most drugs and poisons seem to be absorbed rapidly and this technique is unlikely to be productive more than 4 hours after ingestion, unless gastric emptying has [...]

Read more...