Puricare Industrial Enterprises: Paralysis

Showing posts with label Paralysis. Show all posts

Sunday, January 19, 2020

BOTULISM - Botulism is a serious disease caused by the botulinum toxin. The signs and symptoms depend on the type of botulism. Botulism is a serious illness caused by the botulinum toxin. The toxin causes paralysis. Paralysis starts in the face and spreads to the limbs. If it reaches the breathing muscles, respiratory failure can result. All types of botulism eventually lead to paralysis, so any case of botulism is treated as a medical emergency. In food-borne botulism, signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea followed by constipation and abdominal distention. There may be weakness and difficulty breathing. Symptoms normally appear between 18 and 36 hours after consuming the contaminated food, but this can vary between 3 hours and 8 days. In wound botulism, the nerves that connect the brain to the spine, known as the cranial nerves, experience the first symptoms. This then spreads to the rest of the body.

.................................................................................................................................................................

Botulism

What is it and how can we prevent it?

Medically reviewed by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.

Written by Stephanie Brunner

Botulism is a serious illness caused by the botulinum toxin. The toxin causes paralysis.

Paralysis starts in the face and spreads to the limbs. If it reaches the breathing muscles, respiratory failure can result.

The toxin is produced by Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a type of bacterium.

All types of botulism eventually lead to paralysis, so any case of botulism is treated as a medical emergency.

In the past, it was often fatal, but antitoxins have significantly improved the outlook.

In 2015, the United States saw the biggest outbreak of botulism in 40 years. It stemmed from improperly home-canned potatoes that were shared at a potluck meal.

Symptoms

Botulism is a serious disease caused by the botulinum toxin.

The signs and symptoms depend on the type of botulism.

In food-borne botulism, signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea followed by constipation and abdominal distention. There may be weakness and difficulty breathing.

Symptoms normally appear between 18 and 36 hours after consuming the contaminated food, but this can vary between 3 hours and 8 days.

In wound botulism, the nerves that connect the brain to the spine, known as the cranial nerves, experience the first symptoms. This then spreads to the rest of the body. The incubation period is from 4 days to 2 weeks.

Neurological signs and symptoms of adult, food-borne, and wound botulism are the same, but the symptoms of wound botulism ones may take longer to appear.

The patient may experience double or blurred vision, the eyelids may droop, there will be facial weakness, a dry mouth, dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, and speech slurring. Muscles will become weak.

Next, paralysis will set in. Without treatment, the patient's breathing muscles will eventually become paralyzed, resulting in respiratory failure and death.

The patient remains conscious during this process.

In infant botulism, signs and symptoms may include:

constipation

poor feeding

bad temper

excessive drooling when feeding

sagging eyelids

flat facial expression

lethargy and listlessness

respiratory difficulties

slow or improper reflexes

weak crying weakly

floppiness and poor muscle tone

no gag reflex

unfocused eyes

weak sucking

The incubation period for infant botulism varies from 3 days to 30 days.

Causes

The botulinum toxin, a poison produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), is common in soil and exists in untreated water. It can survive in these environments as a resistant spore.

C. botulinum produces spores that can survive in poorly preserved or canned foods. Here, they produce a toxin. When consumed, even minimal amounts of the toxin can cause severe poisoning.

There are several types of botulism.

Foodborne botulism is caused by consuming foods containing the botulinum toxin.

Wound botulism can occur if the organism enters an open wound and produces toxins within the wound. Injection drug users are at risk for this type of botulism.

Infant botulism happens when an infant consumes the bacteria or their spores, and these grow in the gut. Infant botulism in the U.S. mostly comes from eating honey or corn syrup. The bacterium may also occur naturally in the stool of an infant.

Adult intestinal colonization is a rare form of botulism that occurs when the bacterium colonizes the digestive tract of an adult.

Latrogenic botulism can occur through an overdose of botulism toxin, or botox. Cases of this form of botulism have developed following therapeutic administration of botox.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of wound botulism, people are advised to seek urgent medical attention for any infected wounds and also to avoid injecting street drugs.

To ensure food safety, it is important to practice good food hygiene.

The toxin can thrive in improperly canned food.

Follow any instructions carefully when canning food at home, or avoid canning food at home

Boil home-processed foods for at least 10 minutes before eating, even if no signs of food spoilage are evident

Do not taste canned food items to see if they are still good. Throw away any cans that are bulging, leaking, or appear damaged

Keep potatoes that have been baked in foil hot until eaten

Not give honey or corn syrup to infants under 12 months of age

Ensure all foods are well-cooked

Keep oils infused with garlic or herbs in a refrigerator

Boiling can destroy both the vegetative, or non-spore, form of the bacterium, and the toxin it produces.

However, while boiling for 10 minutes can kill the toxin, to destroy the spore form requires heating to at least 248 degrees Fahrenheit, or 120 degrees Celsius, under pressure, for at least 30 minutes in an autoclave or a pressure cooker.

This is because the spores are highly resistant to harsh environments, and they can remain viable even after several hours of normal boiling.

The spores can be killed by very high temperatures such as those used in commercial canning.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five keys to safer food" stresses the importance of:

keeping clean

separating raw and cooked food

cooking thoroughly

keeping food at safe temperatures

using safe water and raw materials

This is important when people are traveling, especially to countries where access to clean water, hygiene, and refrigeration facilities may be limited.

Botulism cannot always be prevented. The toxin may be present in house dust, even after cleaning. Parents should be aware of any signs that a child is sick, and take early action as appropriate.

Food sources

The most commonly tainted foods are:

home-canned vegetables

cured pork and ham

raw or smoked fish

honey

corn syrup

For example, Home-canned foods and fermented fish and aquatic game from Alaska can be sources of the toxin.

Botulism does not grow in acidic foods with a pH of 4.5 or less.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of infant botulism is confirmed after testing a stool or specimen of enema.

If the doctor suspects botulism, treatment with an anti-toxin should begin immediately, without waiting for test results to come back.

A lab can confirm the presence of botulism.

If the patient's history and physical examination suggest botulism, a doctor may consider it, but as other conditions share similar symptoms, a test will be needed to rule these out.

Conditions with similar symptoms to botulism include stroke, myasthenia gravis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Diagnostic tests may include:

a brain scan

cerebrospinal fluid examination

electromyography

edrophonium chloride test for myasthenia gravis

If the toxin is identified in the food, stomach, vomit, feces, or intestinal contents, a definitive diagnosis can be made.

In very acute cases the toxin might be detected in the blood.

Treatment

Patients with botulism will need to be hospitalized.

Infants will be given Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous-Human, also known as BIG-V or BabyBIG.

Those with respiratory problems will be on a ventilator, and they may need the ventilator for weeks or months, as well as intensive nursing. Over time, the paralysis may improve.

A patient with suspected botulism will immediately be given injections of antitoxins, even before diagnostic test results have returned.

If the infection results from a wound, the wound needs to be treated surgically. The area around the wound is removed, in a process known as debridement.

Antibiotics may also be prescribed to prevent any secondary infection.

Complications

In most cases, infant botulism has no long-term effects.

According to the NIH, fewer than 1 percent of infant cases in the U.S. are fatal.

About 50 years ago, half of all patients with botulism died, compared to between 3 percent and 5 percent today.

Respiratory failure caused by botulism can result in death.

Patients with severe symptoms may need a breathing machine and sometimes intensive medical and nursing care for several months.

Fatigue and shortness of breath may linger for many years.

Other illnesses may develop as a result of the patient's condition, and these are sometimes fatal.

A person who experiences paralysis may recover from botulism with the help of antitoxins, antibodies that can neutralize the toxin, but antitoxins will not cure any paralysis that has already occurred.

Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.Dr. Jill Seladi-Schulman is a manager for clinical trials. She specializes in microbiology and infectious disease. In 2014, she graduated from Emory University with her doctorate in microbiology and molecular genetics. Dr. Seladi-Schulman has publications in peer-reviewed journals and has had her work featured on the cover of the Journal of Virology. Dr. Seladi-Schulman is an avid reader with interests in medical writing and communcation. She also enjoys writing fiction for fun.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173943.php

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

CYANIDE POISONING - How Cyanide Works and How Poisoning Is Treated - Sodium cyanide (NaCN), potassium cyanide (KCN), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and cyanogen chloride (CNCl) are lethal, but thousands of compounds called nitriles contain the cyanide group yet aren't as toxic. In fact, you can find cyanide in nitriles used as pharmaceuticals, such as citalopram (celexa) and cimetidine (Tagamet).

Cyanide Poisoning

You would have to eat a lot of apples with their seeds
at one time to suffer cyanide poisoning.

How Does Cyanide Kill?

Chemistry of Cyanide Poisoning

How Cyanide Works and How Poisoning Is Treated

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, P.h.D.

Murder mysteries and spy novels often feature cyanide as a fast-acting poison, but you can be exposed to this toxin from everyday chemicals and even common foods.

Have you ever wondered how cyanide poisons and kills people, how much it takes before it's toxic, and whether there is a cure?

Here's what you need to know.

WHAT IS CYANIDE?

The term "cyanide" refers to any chemical containing a carbon-nitrogen (CN) bond.

Many substances contain cyanide, but not all of them are deadly poisons.

Sodium cyanide (NaCN), potassium cyanide (KCN), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and cyanogen chloride (CNCl) are lethal, but thousands of compounds called nitriles contain the cyanide group yet aren't as toxic.

In fact, you can find cyanide in nitriles used as pharmaceuticals, such as citalopram (celexa) and cimetidine (Tagamet).

Nitriles aren't as dangerous because they don't readily release the CN^- ion, which is the group that acts as a metabolic poison.

HOW CYANIDE POISONS

In a nutshell, cyanide prevents cells from using oxygen to make energy molecules.

The cyanide ion, CN^-, binds to the iron atom in cytochrome C oxidase in the mitochondria of cells.

It acts as an irreversible enzyme inhibitor, preventing cytochrome C oxidase from doing its job, which is to transport electrons to oxygen in the electron transport chain of aerobic cellular respiration.

Without the ability to use oxygen, mitochondria can't produce the energy carrier adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Tissues that require this form of energy, such as heart muscle cells and nerve cells, quickly expend all their energy and start to die.

When a large enough number of critical cells die, you die.

EXPOSURE TO CYANIDE

Cyanide can be used as a poison or chemical warfare agent, but most people are exposed to it unintentionally.

Some ways to be exposed to cyanide include:

· eating cassava, lima beans, yucca, bamboo shoots, sorghum, or almonds

· eating apple seeds, cherry stones, apricot pits, or peach pits

· smoking cigarettes

· burning plastic

· burning coal

· inhaling smoke from a house fire

· ingesting acetonitrile-based products are used to remove artificial nails

· drinking water, eating food, touching soil, or inhaling air that has been contaminated

· exposure to rodenticide or other cyanide-containing pesticide

Cyanide in fruits and vegetables is in the form of cyanogenic glycosides (cyanoglycosides).

Sugars attach to these compounds through the process of glycosylation, forming free hydrogen cyanide.

Many industrial processes involve compounds that contain cyanide or can react with water or air to produce it.

Paper, textile, photochemical, plastics, mining, and metallurgy industries all may deal with cyanide.

Some people report an odor of bitter almonds associated with cyanide, but not all toxic compounds produce the scent and not all people can smell it.

Cyanide gas is less dense than air, so it will rise.

SYMPTOMS OF CYANIDE POISONING

Inhaling a high dose of cyanide gas rapidly causes unconsciousness and often death.

Lower doses may be survivable, especially if immediate aid is provided.

The symptoms of cyanide poisoning are similar to those displayed by other conditions or exposure to any of a number of chemicals, so don't assume cyanide is the cause.

Do remove yourself from the cause of exposure and seek immediate medical attention!

Immediate Symptoms

· headache

· dizziness

· weakness

· confusion

· fatigue

· lack of coordination

Symptoms from Larger Doses or Longer Exposure

· low blood pressure

· unconsciousness

· convulsions

· slow heart rate

· lung damage

· respiratory failure

· coma

Death from poisoning usually results from respiratory failure or heart failure.

A person exposed to cyanide may have cherry-red skin from high oxygen levels or a dark or blue coloring, from Prussian blue (iron binding to the cyanide ion).

Also, skin and body fluids may give off an odor of almonds.

HOW MUCH CYANIDE IS LETHAL?

How much cyanide is too much depends on the route of exposure, the dose, and duration of exposure.

Inhaled cyanide presents a greater risk than ingested cyanide.

Skin contact is not as much of a concern (unless it has been mixed with DMSO), except touching the compound could lead to accidentally swallowing some of it.

As a rough estimate, since lethal dose depends on the exact compound and several other factors, about half a gram of ingested cyanide will kill a 160-lb adult.

Unconsciousness, followed by death, could occur within several seconds of inhaling a high dose of cyanide, but lower doses and ingested cyanide may allow a few hours to a couple of days for treatment.

Emergency medical attention is critical.

IS THERE A TREATMENT FOR CYANIDE POISONING?

Because it's a relatively common toxin in the environment, the body can detoxify a small amount of cyanide.

For example, you can eat the seeds of an apple or withstand cyanide from cigarette smoke without dying.

When cyanide is used as a poison or a chemical weapon, treatment depends on the dose.

A high dose of inhaled cyanide is lethal too quickly for any treatment to take effect.

Initial first aid for inhaled cyanide is getting the victim to fresh air.

Ingested cyanide or lower doses of inhaled cyanide may be countered by administering antidotes that detoxify cyanide or bind to it.

For example, natural vitamin B12, hydroxocobalamin, reacts with cyanide to form cyanocobalamin, which is excreted in urine.

Inhalation of amyl nitrite may aid breathing in victims of cyanide and also carbon monoxide poisoning, although few first aid kits contain these ampules anymore.

Depending on the conditions, complete recovery may be possible, although paralysis, liver damage, kidney damage, and hypothyroidism are possible.

ANNE MARIE HELMENSTINE, PH.D. is an author and consultant with a broad scientific and medical background.

EXPERIENCE

Anne has taught chemistry, biology, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate level. In her doctoral work, Anne developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests. She has worked abstracting/indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy. She presently works as a freelance writer and scientific consultant. She enjoys adapting lab-based science projects so that they can be performed safely at home.

EDUCATION

Dr. Helmenstine has bachelor of arts degrees in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College in Nebraska and a doctorate of philosophy in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Chemistry is part of everyone's life, from cooking and cleaning to the latest computer chip technology and vaccine development. It doesn't have to be intimidating and it doesn't have to be hard to understand.

You can read more about Anne's current and past work on her Google Profile: Anne Helmenstine. Find Anne's printable periodic tables and science projects at Science Notes.

https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-cyanide-poison-609287

You might also like: