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Poison Control Centers

For a Poison EMERGENCY, call 1-800-222-1222 anywhere in the United States.

All calls to poison control centers are answered by medical professionals trained to answer questions about poisons and to provide immediate poison exposure management instructions.

Twenty-five percent of all calls to U.S. poison centers are to identify a pill unrelated to an exposure[1]. Sixty-four percent of all identified pills were drugs with abuse potential. Pill Identification calls are increasing dramatically and taxing limited poison center resources. You should consider using the Drugs.com Pill Identifier for non-emergency situations.

Map showing Poison Control Centers in the United States

About Poison Control Centers

There are 60 poison control centers throughout the U.S. ready to provide free and confidential 24-hour professional assistance by phone. All poison centers can be reached by calling 1-800-222-1222. Poison centers are staffed by pharmacists, physicians, nurses and poison information providers who are toxicology specialists.

On an annual basis, more than 70 percent of callers get the help they need over the phone and have no need to attend a hospital or health care provider for further treatment. This makes poison centers a key resource in safely reducing costly emergency room visits and lightening the load on an already overtaxed healthcare system.[1] Most of the remaining 30 percent of potential poisoning calls each year are calls from healthcare facilities. Doctors and nurses frequently use poison centers to be in touch with specialists on specific poisoning cases.

Poison centers also provide educational outreach to prevent poison emergencies and inform the public about the dangers of poisons. You can call your poison center to get more information on teaching others about poison safety.

Some centers prefer the term "poison center" and others prefer "poison control center." There is no difference in the services or expertise offered from both.

For more information, contact the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

References:

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19225960

Poison Control Center Listings for the United States

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Source: American Association of Poison Control Centers.
Last Updated: Sep 26, 2017.