Arsenic poisoning: signs, causes, first aid, consequences

This chemical element is the killer's favorite weapon. He figured in many works of art and often became the cause of the death of the main political figures. They strengthened their health and removed intractable husbands. Some of its compounds can harm a person even in small quantities, but on the other hand, mineral waters and some medicines containing it help to restore health. It's time to remove the aura of mystery and get to know this intractable and dangerous substance more closely.

Arsenic is a chemical element, known in the periodic system of Mendeleev as arsen. Atomic number - 33, refers to semimetals. A change in valency over a large range makes it possible to obtain compounds of different properties, some of which can kill a person, while others, on the contrary, can be cured of diseases such as cancer and leukemia.

Element Properties

The content of arsenic in the earth's crust is insignificant. It is not formed in magmatic processes because of its volatility after heating, but with volcanic eruptions, arsenic compounds enter the atmosphere in large quantities. There are about one hundred and eighty minerals based on arsenic, since this element can take a different valence. But in nature the sulfur arsenic (As ₂ S ₃ formula ₎ is more common _.

And not in nature?

In everyday life, the most common and stable is gray arsenic (the formula is α-As). This is a fairly fragile crystal of gray-steel color, which fades in the air and is covered with a film due to prolonged contact with open air. There are also yellow, black and brown modifications of the element, after heating, turning into gray.

Get it by heating the rock, which contains arsen, or restore the pure arsenic from its oxides.

History

In the first place, arsenic is a poison. But in the Ancient World, people used this mineral to produce dyes and medicines. For the first time in its pure form, arsenic was obtained by Albert the Great in the thirteenth century of our era. In his works, Paracelsus also mentioned this element, but under a different name. In the eastern countries, in parallel with the Europeans, also investigated the properties of this amazing substance and could even diagnose death from poisoning. But their knowledge has not reached our days.

As a separate chemical element, arsenic was introduced into the periodic table by Antoine Lavoisier.

Causes of Poisoning

Arsenic poisoning is not uncommon in our time. But this is more the fault of an accident than a targeted murder. You can be confronted with it almost anywhere:

• In nature: groundwater that feeds sources can pass through rocks containing this mineral;
• It is contained in the smoke: the burning of industrial waste is extremely toxic;
• In seafood: since arsenic is well deposited in cold water, when erupting volcanoes located at the bottom of the oceans, it may well enter the body of fish and shellfish;
• In industry: it is used as an auxiliary element in the production of glass, semiconductors or other electronic devices.

In addition, deliberate arsenic poisoning can not be ruled out as an attempt at suicide or murder.

Pathogenesis of poisoning

Getting into the human body through the skin, lungs or intestines, arsenic with blood flow spreads through the body, penetrating into all organs and tissues. He can not overcome the blood-brain barrier, but it penetrates well through the placenta, poisoning the fetus. A long period of excretion allows detecting poison even a week after poisoning.

The lethal dose ranges from 0.05 to 0.2 grams. And it can be obtained either simultaneously or gradually if chronic poisoning takes place. Typically, this condition is observed in workers in agriculture, fur and leather industries, as well as chemical enterprises.

Clinic

When the lethal dose gets inside, the consequences do not keep you waiting. After half an hour a person begins to feel symptoms of general intoxication, such as headache, weakness, lethargy, nausea and vomiting. They are not specific to any poison. It's just the body's reaction to the action of a toxic substance. How to make sure that it was arsenic poisoning? Symptoms are as follows:

• Cramping abdominal pain;
• Diarrhea in the form of rice broth;
• Persistent garlic odor from the mouth;
• Severe dehydration and thirst.

Depending on which system the poison was affected first, several forms of poisoning are distinguished: gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, urinary, and nervous. In addition, as already mentioned above, there is also a case of chronic arsenic poisoning. Symptoms in this case develop less rapidly and are more pronounced on the skin:

1. Hyperkeratosis: excessive production of the surface layer of the skin.
2. Redness or pigmentation of places with thin skin - eyelids, axillae, whiskey, neck, nipples and genitals.
3. Peeling and rough skin.
4. The appearance of white lines on the nail plates.

Urgent activities

The first medical treatment for arsenic poisoning is to wash the stomach with plenty of water and rinse it off the skin. If the person is unconscious, then after you turn him on his side, you need to urgently call an ambulance. In no case do not give the victim a laxative or sorbents. If the poison has already managed to get into the red blood cells, these activities will not be of much help.

In especially severe cases, it is necessary to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation before the arrival of doctors. Signs of arsenic poisoning can be mistaken for ordinary intestinal infection, so be sure to inform physicians of all the details of poisoning.

Treatment in a hospital hospital

Arsenic poisoning requires hospitalization and supervision of specialists. The sufferer needs inhalation of oxygen, abundant invasive therapy to remove the remnants of poison from the body. If, after the tests, it is found that the patient has reduced hemoglobin and red blood cells, he is additionally injected with a glucose-novocaine mixture. When exhaling arsenic vapors may develop mucosal edema, as a result, we have difficulty breathing. In this case, the patient should be administered eufillin, and in severe cases also incubated to connect the respirator.

A specific antidote is "Unithiol" (the main active substance is dimercaprol), which binds to arsenic and forms insoluble compounds that are excreted in the urine. The drug is administered at a rate of 2-3 milligrams per kilogram of weight. Repeat the procedure every six hours during the first day, and then twice a day for a couple of weeks.

The doctor needs to find out how strong the patient has with arsenic poisoning. Treatment will depend on the dose of the poison. Modern methods allow you to establish it fairly accurately.

Forensic examination

As you know, arsenic poisoning for a long time could get away with the killers, since there was no way to detect toxins in the blood or human hair. Historians agree that Napoleon Bonaparte died from this poison, but the official version claims that the cause was untreated stomach cancer.

In order that such incidents do not recur, and a criminal could be found, chemists and physicists from all over the world, without speculating, began to search for a way to reveal arsenic in the body of the victim. This study involved Robert Boyle, Olaf Bergman, Carl Scheele and James Marsh. It was the latter that was able to get pure arsenic during its experiments, which could be used as evidence. The sensitivity of the reaction could show 0.001 g of poison in the blood of the deceased.

After a hundred years, poisoning with arsenic compounds was no longer a mystery to the investigation, as chemists were able to achieve greater accuracy and fineness of the procedure.

Military objectives

After the First World War, when the use of poison gases entered the circle of means to defeat the enemy, scientists enthusiastically began to experiment with new weapons. The chemical effect on the enemy of compounds of arsenic or its vapors caused abscesses, necrosis of the skin, swelling of mucous membranes and death from suffocation before the poison enters the bloodstream. Even a small concentration was enough to demoralize a person and kill him. One such remedy was lewisite. He had a beautiful smell of blooming geranium, but even a drop of it could severely damage the body. For this property the soldiers called it the "dew of death".

Mineral water

The permissible concentration of arsenic in a liter of drinking water is 50 micrograms. But in 2002 this rule was revised, resulting in a more stringent - up to 10 micrograms. Anxiety on this issue scored in Taiwan. Their artesian water contained so much arsenic that it was amazing how they still did not die out. The concentration was more than 180 times higher than the norm allowed by modern standards.

The issue of water purification and delivery to the regions of South-East Asia with the least economic costs arose. The simplest method was oxidation of trivalent arsenic to pentavalent and precipitation.

Medical application

In small quantities, almost all elements of DI Mendeleyev's periodic system are necessary for the normal functioning of a person, they knowingly are present in the body. And who has not heard the phrase that in small doses and poison is a medicine? It is known that arsenic helps to improve hemopoiesis, to accelerate the metabolism and speed of tissue growth, including bones. Microdoses even improve the immune system. In ancient times, the paste from the arsenic compound was used to treat ulcers and open wounds, sore throat, recurrent typhus.

In the thirteenth century, Thomas Fowler invented a solution based on arsenic, which he called his name and used to treat mental and skin diseases. The fascination with this medicine and its derivatives reached its climax at the junction of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But with the introduction of new knowledge about physics, chemistry and the human body, the toxic nature of this compound was uncovered, and its application declined.

Natural mineral water, enriched with arsenic, and now used to treat anemia, leukemia and some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, it is part of the mummy used in cosmetology. Natural sources of this element are seafood, wild rice, cereals, lentils, carrots, grapes (and raisins), strawberries.