where aided by tickling the
throat, vomiting may be generally induced, with the effect, of course, of
expelling a greater or less proportion of the poison from the stomach. If
it be known that the poison is an _acid_, ordinary cooking soda should be
added to the water that the patient drinks, as in this way all acid
substances are at once neutralized.

If the patient has taken an _alkaline_ poison, he should immediately be
given diluted vinegar, or water into which the juice of lemons or oranges
has been squeezed; such harmless acids neutralize poisonous alkaloids
just as harmless alkalies antidote poisonous acids.

_Arsenic poisoning_ usually results from the accidental swallowing of
rat-poison or some insecticide, as Paris green, or else some sort of
green dye, many of which contain salts of arsenic in some form. An emetic
should be at once given, to be followed by the whites of several eggs
dissolved in a small amount of water; sweet milk may also be
administered with benefit.

Accidental poisoning by _phosphorus_, results usually from children
eating the heads of matches, and it is rarely the case that enough of the
substance is taken to produce serious results. The poison, however, is a
deadly one if taken in sufficient quantity, and where it is found that
substances containing it have been swallowed the most energetic measures
should at once be resorted to. Warm water containing mustard or some
other emetic should at once be given, and this should be followed by
whites of eggs and sweet milk. It is well also to try to get rid of any
of the phosphorus that might remain in the stomach by giving the patient
some saline purgative like Epsom salts.

Where _carbolic acid_ has been taken, the fact can be readily determined
by noting the characteristic smell of this substance on the patient's
breath, and by observing that the mouth and throat present a more or less
whitish appearance. The treatment to be of any avail, should be of the
most energetic character. The patient should at once drink largely of
water, and vomiting should be induced as quickly as possible. Either
milk or the white of an egg should then be given. Ordinary quick-lime, or
even plaster from the walls of the house, may be stirred up in water and
administered to the sufferer, as both have a distinct value in antidoting
the effects of this poison. Burns of the skin with carbolic acid are
rarely followed by serious consequences. As soon as the acciden