Did you take your poison today?

How does a person know if they have been poisoned?

These are some of the symptoms a person might experience if you have been exposed to pesticides:

Mild symptoms	Severe symptoms
dry throat itchy skin headache red eyes running nose	vomiting diarrhea staggering convulsions loss of consciousness

These symptoms can be caused by other illnesses, but if a person suffers a combination of these symptoms after using a pesticide it is likely that they have been poisoned. Farmers do not always realise that they are suffering from pesticide poisoning, and instead they think they have influenza or malaria or some other sickness.

Different pesticides will cause different symptoms. Chemicals like methyl parathion can affect the nervous system, causing fatigue, twitching and staggering. Paraquat is more likely to affect the skin and mucous membranes (the inside of the mouth, nose, and eyes), causing redness, itching, and cracking of the skin.

A farmer uses a “body map” to note down signs and symptoms of pesticide poisoning.