About Poisons

Poisons. We’ve all heard of them, in murder mysteries, they are what could be a woman’s weapon of choice. Because that’s the stereotype. But you guys know that I got a RAK of Poison Study, and how much I loved it that I instantly fell in love with Maria V. Snyder’s writing, and am currently collecting the 4 books of hers that I don’t have. Plus I  can’t wait till Touch of Power comes out! And there’s a chance to get an ARC if you email her the answers for Outside In on her website!  

Anyway, poisons. They can kill, maim, harm, and are pretty much no good. Well, for the one that is receiving them. For the one that is using them, poisons can be seen as good. But they aren’t good-they’re killing or hurting someone. And that’s bad.

But there is a pretty neat history behind poisoning. Assassins used them to kill people that were wanted killed, and didn’t want there to be a trace to link back to them, and their employers. Especially in the times of Ancient Rome.

 Poisoning started over 4500 years, so it’s been around, and it’s been used in some pretty interesting ways, like this plant, the origin of poisons, it’s been believed, called in it’s Latin name, Strychnos toxifera, was used for darts and the like for killing. But it looks pretty harmless to me! Guess looks are deceiving! But aren’t there a lot of good-looking bad guys in our YA novels that we love to read? Like in Poison Study, Reyad was good looking, but that masked a rotten core.

A poison is anything that can harm someone if it is 1) used in the wrong way, 2) used by the wrong person, or 3) used in the wrong amount. Some poisons may be harmful if they come into direct contact with your eyes or skin. Others may be toxic if you breathe them or swallow them.

Some types of poisons are carbon dioxide, the plant believed to be the origin of poisons, can come in many forms, like solids as pills, liquids as cleaners like bleach, sprays like air fresheners, and gases, like carbon monoxide. But even water, salt and oxygen, things that are pretty much required to live, can be poisons, maybe deadly, in high enough concentrations.

Some more examples of poisons are:

• Alcohol   
• Carbon monoxide (CO) gas 
• Medicines, such as prescription (painkillers, iron pills), over-the-counter (cough and cold medicines), and illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin)
• Food supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, and herbal products
• Personal care products, such as nail polish and nail polish remover, cologne, aftershave, deodorant, mouthwash, hydrogen peroxide, makeup, soap, contact lens solution, lotion, baby oil, and diaper rash products
• Household and automotive chemicals or products, including bleach, laundry or dish detergent, furniture polish, cleanser, drain and toilet bowl cleaner, antifreeze, gasoline, paint, varnish, bug and weed killers
• Other household items (batteries, lighter fluid, alcohol, cigarettes)
• Plants, including many house plants, outdoor plants, and mushrooms
• Bites and stings, including scorpion, wasp, and bee stings, as well as snake and spider bites
• Hazardous chemicals at work and in the environment

Some “how they can be” types of poison, acute and chronic:

Acute poisoning is being in contact to a poison on one occasion or during a short period of time. Symptoms develop in a short time after exposure to the poison. Absorption of a poison is necessary for systemic poisoning. Though some substances can act like poisons, they aren’t, like they destroy tissue but do not absorb, such as lye, are known as “corrosives” instead of poisons. Also, many common household medications aren’t labeled with skull and crossbones label of poison up there, although they can cause severe illness or even death. Medically speaking, poisoning can be caused by less dangerous substances than those receiving the legal classification of "poison" simply because they are harmful to people.

Chronic poisoning is long-term repeated or continuous exposure to a poison where symptoms do not occur immediately or after each exposure. The person exposed slowly becomes ill, or it takes a while for the symptoms to show. Chronic poisoning most commonly occurs following exposure to poisons that are in the sky, or are magnified because of the greenhouse gas effect, like as mercury and lead.

Then there’s toxicity and some other things that makes you think of poisons.

The words "toxic" and "poisonous" are similar, and yet, toxic doesn’t cover killings, because it’s natural, or if it’s man-made, it wasn’t made for the purpose  of killing. Or was it? Some symptoms and some information would be:

 “If the toxin was recently ingested, absorption of the substance may be able to be decreased through gastric decontamination. This may be achieved using activated charcoal, gastric lavage, whole bowel irrigation, or nasogastric aspiration. Routine use of emetics (syrup of Ipecac), cathartics or laxatives are no longer recommended.

Activated charcoal is the treatment of choice to prevent absorption of the poison. It is usually administered when the patient is in the emergency room or by a trained emergency healthcare provider such as a Paramedic or EMT. However, charcoal is ineffective against metals such as sodium, potassium, and lithium, and alcohols and glycols; it is also not recommended for ingestion of corrosive chemicals such as acids and alkalis.

Whole bowel irrigation cleanses the bowel, this is achieved by giving the patient large amounts of a polyethylene glycol solution. The osmotically balanced polyethylene glycol solution is not absorbed into the body, having the effect of flushing out the entire gastrointestinal tract. Its major uses are following ingestion of sustained release drugs, toxins that are not absorbed by activated charcoal (i.e. lithium, iron), and for the removal of ingested packets of drugs (body packing/smuggling).

Gastric lavage, commonly known as a stomach pump, is the insertion of a tube into the stomach, followed by administration of water or saline down the tube. The liquid is then removed along with the contents of the stomach. Lavage has been used for many years as a common treatment for poisoned patients. However, a recent review of the procedure in poisonings suggests no benefit. It is still sometimes used if it can be performed within 1 hour of ingestion and the exposure is potentially life threatening.

 Nasogastric aspiration involves the placement of a tube via the nose down into the stomach, the stomach contents are then removed via suction. This procedure is mainly used for liquid ingestions where activated charcoal is ineffective, e.g. ethylene glycol poisoning.

 Emesis (i.e. induced by ipecac) is no longer recommended in poisoning situations, because vomiting is ineffective at removing poison”

I have no clue what those things mean, but they looked interesting! And harmful!

I think that poisons are pretty bad, and that unless it’s for a person in the hospital for lethal injections at prisons for the death row prisoners, or for people who are dying and would like it painless in hospitals and hospices. And bugs, but they’re kinda not important, and as long as it doesn’t affect the ecosystem or do any other harm then killing the bugs. But that they shouldn’t be used to murder someone, or hurt them, or harm them. That’s just really bad! So I guess Valek would kinda be out of a job, huh?

The Quiz:

*Hint, follow the links!*