E. Misconceptions and Unexpected Events(General Remarks of Toxicology-The Chat from Clinical Toxicological Field-Part 4)

Abstract

In the 4th report from the field of toxicology, misconceptions connected intoxication in Japan and unexpected events that the writer had experienced were published. The main items can be summarized as follows: ・The toxic effects of sarin are much weaker than those of a biological toxin. If a method could be developed to abstract biological toxin easily for use as an instrument of terrorism, the potential for the destruction and ruin of extensive areas is extremely high. ・The fatal effects of sleeping or sedative medications are not so strong as is generally believed. Even if a patient takes high doses of these drugs, the loss of life directly attributable to direct damage from the drug itself is vary rare. ・For the victims of pufferfish poisoning, urgent respiratory treatment must be carried out. With strong stimulus, pufferfish secrete a strong toxin from the surface of the body. ・Ammonia is not effective for the detoxification of the toxin of insects and fish toxins. ・The countermoves against bites by the poisonous snakes in Sumatra are very different from Japan. ・The liver of the white bear is poisonous in humans because of its excessive levels of vitamin A. ・The secretion from some frogs at South American frogs contains a strong toxin, and the natives use this on tips of their arrows when hunting animals