If your child has swallowed something they should not have: remove whatever is left in the mouth, give a couple of sips of water, and call. If the child is affected, drowsy, vomiting or struggling to breathe: call 112 and ask for Giftinformation (poisons information). If the child seems fine: call Giftinformationscentralen (the Swedish Poisons Information Centre) on 010-456 67 00 with the packaging in front of you. Never make the child vomit, do not give milk, and do not give activated charcoal unless you have been told to.
Sunday afternoon in a flat in Vasastan. The two-year-old has been quiet for three minutes, which is never good, and is sitting on the bathroom floor with an empty blister pack of iron tablets that was in a handbag on the floor. How many were left? Nobody knows. That is what most poisonings in children look like: a child between one and three, an ordinary home, a substance within reach for a couple of minutes. Here is what you do, in order, and what is actually dangerous.
Do this, in this order
- Remove what is left from the mouth with your finger. Keep what you get out, and the packaging.
- Give a little to drink, a couple of sips of water, if the child is awake and can swallow. No more than that, and not milk.
- Assess the child. Awake and their usual self, or drowsy, vomiting, coughing, drooling, in pain, breathing strangely?
- Call. Child affected: 112, ask for Giftinformation. Child unaffected: Giftinformationscentralen on 010-456 67 00. Give the child's age and weight, what they have swallowed, how much might be missing and when.
- Do what they tell you. Most often the answer is to wait at home and watch, sometimes to go to hospital, sometimes to give activated charcoal from the pharmacy.
- Keep the child under observation for the next few hours, even if the answer was reassuring. Symptoms from some substances come late.
What you must never do
- Make the child vomit. Corrosive substances burn the oesophagus a second time. Petroleum products such as lamp oil end up in the lungs. And a vomiting child can choke.
- Give milk. It neutralises nothing and can make some substances absorb faster.
- Give activated charcoal on your own initiative. It helps with some tablets and is useless or harmful with other things. Giftinformationscentralen will tell you when.
- Wait and see. Nicotine, iron and paracetamol can give few symptoms at first and serious ones later. Call straight away, not after an hour.
- Assume a small amount is harmless. One portion of snus (Swedish oral tobacco) or a few millilitres of e-cigarette liquid can be a serious dose for a toddler.
What is dangerous, and what usually is not
| Substance | Risk | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Nicotine: snus, nicotine pouches, e-cigarette liquid | High | Call straight away, even for a small amount. Vomiting and paleness come quickly. |
| Iron tablets, paracetamol and other medicines | High in larger amounts | Count what is missing, call with the packaging. Symptoms can come late. |
| Lamp oil, lighter fluid, white spirit | High | Do not make the child vomit. Call straight away. Coughing is a warning sign. |
| Dishwasher tablets, drain cleaner, oven cleaner | High, corrosive | Rinse the mouth, a little to drink, call straight away. Pain and drooling: 112. |
| Button batteries | Emergency | 112 or straight to A&E. Burns a hole in the oesophagus within hours. |
| Small magnets, more than one | Emergency | A&E. Magnets can pinch the bowel wall together. |
| Alcohol | High for small children | Call. Causes low blood sugar and drowsiness in small children. |
| Laundry detergent, washing-up liquid, soft soap | Low to moderate | Rinse the mouth, drink a little, call if the child vomits or feels unwell. |
| Toothpaste, soap, crayons, watercolours, children's glue | Low | Rinse the mouth, give something to drink. Call if in doubt. |
| Houseplants, garden plants, berries | Varies | Call with the name of the plant or a photo. |
Call 112 if
- The child is drowsy, hard to wake or unconscious
- The child is struggling to breathe, coughing persistently or wheezing
- The child vomits repeatedly or has a seizure
- The child has swallowed a button battery or more than one magnet
- The child has swallowed a corrosive substance and is in pain, drooling or refusing to swallow
- The child has swallowed nicotine, lamp oil or a large amount of medicine, even if they seem unaffected
- You are frightened. That is reason enough.
Chemicals on the skin and in the eyes
On the skin: take off the clothes, rinse with lukewarm water for ten to fifteen minutes, wash with mild soap. Corrosive products such as drain cleaner and dishwasher tablets can cause burns, and they are treated as burns: more on that in Burns in children. In the eyes: rinse for at least fifteen minutes under lukewarm running water, holding the eyelid open, then 1177 (the national healthcare helpline) or a doctor. The child will scream. Rinse anyway.
How to prevent it, without rebuilding your home
- Medicines, nicotine and chemicals locked away, not just up high. A two-year-old climbs onto a chair on top of a box.
- Handbags and pockets are the most common source: painkillers, a snus tin, nicotine gum. Up on the shelf in the hall when guests arrive.
- Everything in its original packaging. Lamp oil in a fizzy-drink bottle is a classic accident.
- Child-resistant caps slow a child down, they do not stop them. Assume the child will get them open.
- Grandma's medicines when you visit: she no longer has child-safe habits.
- Giftinformationscentralen's number saved in the phone of everyone who looks after the child.
- The full room-by-room checklist is in Childproofing your home.
How we do it with our families
Every one of our nannies has Giftinformationscentralen's number in her phone and knows that 112 and asking for Giftinformation is the rule if the child is affected. At the first meeting in a new family's home she asks where the medicines are kept and asks for the child's weight, because that is the first thing Giftinformationscentralen asks about. Doaa once had a three-year-old in Jakobsberg who had found a nicotine pouch in a jacket pocket in the hall. She took out what was left, called straight away with the boy on her lap, and followed the instructions for an hour until the danger had passed. Then she phoned the parents. It was all on the note, with times, when they got home.
This text is general information and does not replace advice from BVC (the child health clinic every family is enrolled in), your vårdcentral (local health centre) or 1177. If you are worried about your child, call 1177. In an emergency, call 112.
Would you like a nanny who knows your child, knows how they usually are and notices when something is different? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home.
Read more: Childproofing your home · Paediatric CPR · Burns in children · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which number do we call if our child has swallowed something?
Call 112 and ask for Giftinformation if the child is affected: drowsy, vomiting, struggling to breathe, or if you are frightened. If the child seems fine and you are wondering whether it is dangerous, call Giftinformationscentralen on 010-456 67 00. Have the packaging in your hand when you call, so they can assess it straight away.
Should we make our child vomit?
No, never. It is old advice that does harm: corrosive substances burn a second time on the way up, and lamp oil and lighter fluid can end up in the lungs. Do not give milk or activated charcoal on your own initiative either. Call, and do what Giftinformationscentralen tells you.
What is most dangerous in an ordinary home?
Nicotine in snus and e-cigarette liquid, iron tablets, paracetamol and other medicines in larger amounts, lamp oil and lighter fluid, dishwasher tablets, drain cleaner and other corrosive products, and button batteries. These should be locked away, not just up high, because children climb on whatever is out. Call if even the smallest amount is missing.
Our child has eaten part of a houseplant, what do we do?
Remove what is left from the mouth, give a little to drink and call Giftinformationscentralen with the name of the plant. Many common houseplants only cause irritation in the mouth, but some do more. If you do not know the name, take a photo of the plant. The same goes for berries and mushrooms outdoors, where a photo of the plant is often enough for an assessment.
Our child has got cleaning product in their eye, what do we do?
Rinse immediately under lukewarm running water for at least 15 minutes, holding the eyelid open, ideally in the shower or with a gentle stream from the tap. Then call Giftinformationscentralen or 1177. A corrosive product in the eye should always be checked by a doctor after rinsing, even if the child has stopped crying.