Poison Information Center held about 70 consultations a day in 2022

The INEM's Poison Information Center performed an average of about 70 consultations per day in 2022, totaling 25,167, most of them motivated by medication, mainly antidepressants and anxiolytics, and cleaning products such as bleaches and detergents

The data were released today by the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), which launched the campaign "Not everything what it seems is", with the aim of alerting to the existence of this specialized service in poisoning, accessible to anyone via toll-free number: 800 250 250.

Of the 25,167 consultations made last year in the Poison Information Center (CIAV), 24,034 (95.49%) were related to situations of exposure to a potential toxic, says the INEM in a statement, stressing that "about 56% of these cases resulted from unintentional exposure and, as such, avoidable.

According to the CIAV data, 8,419 consultations involved children, most of whom (58%) were under the age of five.

In the 15,159 cases concerning the adult population, 63% are women, with a greater number of consultations in the 20-29 age group, with 2,898 cases.