Doctors strongly advise that any suspected ingestion of rat poison should prompt immediate medical attention.
Published Jan 15, 2026 | 5:31 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 15, 2026 | 5:31 PM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
Synopsis: Between 2021 and 2025, Chennai’s Stanley Medical College Hospital recorded over 2,100 rat poison ingestion cases, mostly among young adults. Despite a decline after the 2022 ban on yellow phosphorus paste, risks persist due to delayed symptoms and easy access to rodenticides. Doctors stress urgent medical care, public awareness, and mental health support as critical to preventing fatalities and repeat attempts.
In 2025, 222 people were admitted to Stanley Medical College Hospital for rat poison ingestion, and over 2,100 cases were recorded between 2021 and 2025, according to hospital records.
Most patients were young adults, aged between 16 to 24, many of whom consumed the poison impulsively, often showing no symptoms for the first 24 to 48 hours.
The danger is so silent that even a recent incident — in which a gig worker in Tamil Nadu refused to hand over rat poison ordered late at night by a woman — reflects only a small glimpse of a larger, ongoing public health issue, according to Dr S Chandrasekar, professor and HoD of Medicine at Stanley Medical College.
The figures come from Stanley Medical College’s toxicology records maintained under the Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative (TAEI), which tracks emergencies across six key categories, including poisoning.
Each hospital admission is counted separately, providing clear insight into poisoning trends. “This system allows doctors and policymakers to identify high-risk districts and monitor patterns over time, ensuring that the hospital can respond efficiently to severe cases,” Dr Chandrashekar told South First.
Among the five government medical colleges in Chennai, Stanley serves as a key referral center for severe poisoning, particularly those that may require liver care or transplantation, he highlighted.
Patients are often referred from neighboring districts such as Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpattu, where smaller hospitals may not have the facilities to treat multi-organ complications.
“Being a nodal centre for liver transplantation, we receive cases that are the most critical and complex,” said Dr Chandrasekar, highlighting the hospital’s central role in treating life-threatening poisoning.
“At Stanley, liver transplants for poisoning patients are cadaver-based rather than live-donor, as the hospital relies on organs from donors rather than relatives, ensuring fairness and safety,” he said.
After a peak of 803 cases in 2022, Stanley doctors brought the situation to the attention of the state government, resulting in the ban on 3 percent yellow phosphorus paste in late 2022. This regulatory step has contributed to a steady decline in admissions — 335 in 2023, 241 in 2024, and 222 in 2025.
However, Dr Chandrasekar cautions that other rodenticides remain easily accessible, meaning the risk to public health continues despite regulatory action.
One of the key challenges in treating rat poisoning is its delayed effect. “Patients often appear completely normal for the first 24 to 48 hours,” explained Dr Chandrasekar.
Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, yellowing of the skin, or internal bleeding often appear only on the third day, after the poison has already caused significant cellular damage. This silent period can create a false sense of safety for patients and families.
By the time patients arrive at tertiary hospitals like Stanley, many already show multi-organ failure, including liver, heart, kidney, and blood complications.
“Early interventions such as gastric lavage, decontamination, and activated charcoal are effective only if the patient reaches medical care immediately,” he said, emphasising the importance of prompt hospital visits for suspected poisoning cases.
Public awareness about this is limited, leading to delays in seeking care. Families may wait until visible symptoms appear, which can be too late.
Doctors strongly advise that any suspected ingestion of rat poison should prompt immediate medical attention, regardless of whether the patient appears healthy, in order to prevent irreversible organ damage, according to Dr Chandrasekar.
Anticoagulant rat poisons primarily target the liver’s clotting mechanism. Dr Thiagarajan Srinivasan, Director at the Institute of Liver Diseases and Transplant, MGM Healthcare, told South First that these poisons inhibit vitamin K-dependent clotting factor production, meaning that patients often feel normal for 24 to 72 hours after ingestion, even though their blood’s ability to clot is already compromised.
As clotting factors gradually deplete, bleeding begins silently, often within the stomach, muscles, or brain.
“By the time visible signs such as black stools, blood in urine, or unexplained bruising appear, bleeding may already be life-threatening,” said Dr Srinivasan. This delayed, hidden progression makes rat poison particularly dangerous and complicates treatment even in specialised hospitals.
From a preventive perspective, any unusual bleeding after suspected rat poison ingestion should trigger immediate medical evaluation, even if the person otherwise seems healthy.
Early warning signs include bleeding gums, slow-healing nosebleeds, faint blood in urine or stools, or small bruises. “These subtle signs can indicate the liver’s clotting system is failing and require urgent attention,” said Dr Srinivasan.
Most adult rat poisoning cases are intentional, often impulsive, according to Dr Chandrasekar. He observed that stress, academic or professional pressure, and socioeconomic struggles are major contributing factors for self-harm among young adults, particularly those in their teens and early 20s.
Hospitals provide post-treatment counseling and psychiatric monitoring to help prevent repeat attempts. “We ensure that survivors receive mental health support immediately after stabilisation,” he explained, emphasising the importance of early intervention and monitoring to reduce the risk of subsequent self-harm.
While physical health is widely taught, mental well-being often receives less attention. “Children and young adults should be taught how to manage stress, anxiety, and emotional challenges, alongside academics and extracurricular skills,” he added.
Experts stress that early reporting and awareness are critical in preventing fatalities. According to Dr Chandrasekar, Stanley Hospital has shared treatment protocols with other government medical colleges and district hospitals, aiming to standardise poisoning care across the state.
The hospital has also advocated for wider availability of plasma exchange therapy, which helps remove toxins from the blood in severe cases, enabling better survival rates for multi-organ failure patients.
While regulatory measures such as the yellow phosphorus paste ban have reduced cases, risks remain. Incidents like the recent delivery executive refusing to hand over poison highlight the dangers of easy access.
“Early medical intervention, public awareness campaigns, and mental health support are essential to saving lives,” he noted, underlining the ongoing need for comprehensive prevention strategies.
(If you need support or know someone who has suicidal thoughts, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist or contact the helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families. Tele-MANAS: 14416; Life Suicide Prevention: 7893078930; Arogya Vani: 104; Sahay Helpline: 080-25497777; Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584.)
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
