MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Chalk

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Chalk

Contents of this page:
Definition Poisonous Ingredient Where Found Symptoms Home Care	Before Calling Emergency Poison Control What to Expect at the Emergency Room Outlook (Prognosis)

Definition

Poisoning from swallowing chalk.

Poisonous Ingredient

Chalk is generally considered to be non-toxic.

Where Found

Chalk

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Symptoms

Gastrointestinal
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
Eye irritation

Home Care

Wash any chalk from the skin or eyes. Call Poison Control for further guidance.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight, and condition
The name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
The time it was swallowed
The amount swallowed

Poison Control

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

See National Poison Control center.

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

Some or all of the following procedures may be performed:

Treat the symptoms.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Chalk is considered a fairly nontoxic substance, so recovery is quite likely.

Update Date: 5/16/2006

Updated by: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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