Helpline - Washington Poison Center

Poison Center Helpline

Washington Poison Center is here for you and your loved ones with trusted information and treatment advice on potentially harmful substances.

Call 1 (800) 222-1222

Free, trusted health service

We are here 24/7/365

We provide immediate, free, and confidential treatment advice and assistance for poisoning, overdose, medication mistakes, and any other toxic exposure or question. All calls are answered by nurses, pharmacists, and doctors with expert-level training.

Older woman talking on a headset in a room with cubicles with other people behind her in cubicles also talking on headsets.

Quick, expert guidance for any exposure

Each year, we handle more than 125,000 calls from across Washington. Nearly 9 in 10 are about exposures to potentially dangerous substances—everything from household cleaners and spoiled food to workplace chemicals, drugs, medications, and even bites or stings. The rest are information calls, preventing poisonings before they happen.

We are able help more than 90% of people over the phone, avoiding expensive and stressful trips to the ER. We encourage you to save the Poison Helpline’s numbers in your contacts for quick access in case of an emergency.

Call: 1-800-222-1222

Text: 206-526-2121

How Washington Poison Center can help you

The Poison Helpline is for everyone – whether you’re a parent, an adult, a caregiver, or a medical professional, we offer free, expert treatment advice and guidance. If you have an emergency or just a question, we are here for you.

Community Members

Medical Professionals

WAPC will support with:

Assistance determining whether a response is warranted
Assistance determining whether ALS or BLS is required
Assistance with providing pre-arrival instructions to patients
Provision of treatment recommendations to the responding agency
Follow-up calls with the patient or caller as needed
Identifying medications (pill identification) for EMS and law enforcement

911 Dispatchers

Dispatchers can let WAPC know when transferring a call, alerting WAPC to presence on the line at the outset of the call to help handle the call with the highest priority. WAPC tailors the information to the needs of the 911 dispatchers, whether a response is needed and if ALS or BLS is required.

The basic information WAPC staff need:

Which agency is calling
Whether dispatchers are responding a unit already or waiting for WAPC to help with that decision
The phone number and zip code of your agency

EMTs / Paramedics

WAPC can help provide support when EMTs / Paramedics are called:

They can provide a brief history when on scene, or the scenario they’re en route to
WAPC can provide treatment recommendations, help deciding whether ALS is needed, or determining if transport is even necessary
EMTs / Paramedics may be called to provide WAPC with details about the patient’s age, weight, basic health status, and any symptoms present to help determine an appropriate course of therapy

Allow WAPC to follow up with the EMTs / Paramedics after the call, or contact WAPC at your convenience with any pertinent information regarding transport, symptoms experience by patient, and /or treatment rendered. This feedback allows us to monitor the effectiveness of our guidelines and to make adjustments if necessary.

Washington Poison Center saves nearly $24 million in avoided healthcare costs.

We reduce unnecessary hospital visits and treatments because we are able to treat more than 90% of callers in their own homes. When factoring in indirect cost savings, such as the clinical guidance we provided to ERs, leading to reduced hospital admissions and shorter hospital stays, our cost-savings impact is three times higher.