Bring the container with you. A normal physical exam and no symptoms for 6 hours tells the doctor that the child experienced either little poisoning or did not eat any iron-containing substances. If you can, tell the doctor the type of iron supplement and the number of tablets swallowed. The doctor may perform an x-ray of your child s abdomen to confirm there are iron pills in the gastrointestinal tract, although sometimes they are there and not seen. Laboratory and imaging tests are not usually sensitive enough to detect poisoning.
Some tests are also too slow to affect the diagnosis and management of iron poisoning.
Once the doctor makes sure your child is breathing normally, the child likely will have his or her whole bowel cleaned by drinking a strong laxative fluid. Deferoxamine can be administered by IV or shot, but the IV route is preferred for easier dose adjustment. Usually children require no more than 24 hours of therapy. Orogastric lavage, or pumping of the stomach, can be considered, but it is generally only helpful if performed within 1 hour of swallowing the pills. Insertion of the tube can cause complications, and many pills may not fit through the ports of a lavage tube if they are not disintegrated.