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Scheme for Investigating Cases of Death due to Poisoning
Published in Paul T. Jayaprakash, Crime Scene Investigation and Reconstruction, 2023
The circumstances leading to entry of poisonous substances into human body and the effect of poison inside the body are numerous although instances leading to fatalities warranting scene investigations are relatively limited. Where the victim survives, there may be possibilities to obtain information relating to the type of the poison consumed and the circumstances that led to poison intake—whether it was accidental or intentional. In such cases, the laboratory analyses, usually termed as ‘clinical toxicological analyses’, of the stomach lavage, blood, or urine of the victim under hospitalization would further confirm the type of the poison ingested steering appropriate course of treatment. In such instances, the need for scene examination seldom arises. Among the commonplace poisons in domestic use, those like kerosene, disinfectants, and detergents are more prone to accidental intake by children. Pharmacological preparations like sedatives are known to be consumed by individuals attempting suicide by other modes such as by falling from heights.
Fungi and Water
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
The symptoms of mushroom poisoning can vary from slight gastro-intestinal troubles and vomiting to life-threatening organ failure (liver, kidneys) resulting in death (94–97). The incubation period can vary from one day to several weeks after which serious symptoms may occur, during which time the toxins attack the kidney or liver (95). Generally, gastrointestinal (GI) troubles are the first symptoms reported in all cases of mushroom poisoning and include nausea (86.6%), vomiting (79.8%), and diarrhea (21.1%) (94). Moderate to severe acute hepatic failure is also observed (94). In the past, some have promoted reliance on an initial time to development of GI symptoms to predict prognosis. Specifically, a latency of less than six hours to development of GI symptoms was utilized to predict that ingestion of a mushroom would produce toxicity (94). However, this practice has limitations. Conversely, GI symptoms occurring more than six hours after ingestion remain concerning for a possible serious clinical course and potential death (94). Beside GI symptoms, other adverse effects such as liver failure, bradycardia, chest pain, seizures, intestinal fibrosis, renal failure, erythromelalgia, and rhabdomyolysis are also observed (97). The symptoms and the gravity of fungal poisoning vary with each poisonous fungus and its quantity ingested.
Drugs and health
Published in Sally Robinson, Priorities for Health Promotion and Public Health, 2021
Counterfeit and illegal drugs, especially those in pill or powder form, can be dangerous because the dose of the active substance is unknown. They can include potentially poisonous adulterants such as lead (metal), strychnine (pesticide), clenbuterol (decongestant), local anaesthetics, levamisole (worm treatment), aluminium and glass (DH, 2011). One woman said: I’m seeing more diversity in drugs and quality of drugs due to the darknet markets … we’re injecting drugs that we don’t know exactly what they are or the strength any more. So called ‘liquid Xanax’ for example – it’s clearly not etizolam when it has floaties in it.(Australian woman, quoted in Peacock et al., 2019 p.1679)
Plant identification applications do not reliably identify toxic and edible plants in the American Midwest
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2023
Kevan Long, Andrew Townesmith, Alex Overmiller, Wendy Applequist, Anthony Scalzo, Paula Buchanan, Cindy C. Bitter
While individuals foraging in the wilderness should have prior experience or botanical expertise that allows safe harvesting, some individuals may attempt to substitute technology for this expertise. As more people take technology into the wilderness, there is concern about the accuracy of the information provided by smartphone applications (apps). Misidentification of toxic plants by an app could provide false reassurance after a potentially serious ingestion or provoke undue anxiety or an unnecessary evacuation if a benign ingestion were to be listed as toxic. Apps have been shown to be fairly reliable in identifying poisonous plants that could be unintentionally ingested by small children or pets [31]. To the best of our knowledge, these apps have not been tested for their ability to identify edible wild plants or to distinguish between edible plants and their look-alike toxic counterparts. This is also the first paper to validate the applications using an Android platform.
Biosensors for the detection of mycotoxins
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Akansha Shrivastava, Rakesh Kumar Sharma
The human body is exposed to various toxins through ingestion, contact, and inhalation. Toxic contamination in various crops and related food is of major concern regarding human health. Several poisonous substances are produced by different microorganisms, plants, and animals. A very well-known quote defining toxicology by Paracelsus states that “All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous” (Alshannaq and Yu 2017). Historical reports on mycotoxicoses disease, which affected many parts of Europe (referred to as Holy Fire or St-Antony’s Fire in the middle ages) revealed that it was caused by consumption of contaminated rye. The source of this disease was ergot alkaloids from Claviceps purpurea. Even today, the contamination of food and feed with mycotoxins is a significant problem.
Non-thermal techniques: a new approach to removing pesticide residues from fresh products and water
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Reza Abedi-Firoozjah, Zahra Ghasempour, Sirous Khorram, Arezou Khezerlou, Ali Ehsani
Pesticides are substances intended to prevent pest infestation by controlling plant diseases, weeds, insects, microorganisms, and mice or any other animals that can inflict damage to crops or human health. These compounds are also used to regulate plant growth and improve the quality and quantity of plant products. Nevertheless, if used irrationally, pesticides may be poisonous and dangerous to pests, humans, and other wildlife (Kailani et al. 2019, Wu et al. 2019, Rodrigues et al. 2020). Considering the benefits of using fresh products, the presence of pesticide residues in these products has become a health concern for consumers from all over the world (Wang and Harnoode 2014). Health problems caused by pesticides can be both short and long term. Symptoms including headache and nausea can develop shortly after consumption, and long-term problems can result in both acute and chronic diseases, such as cancer, reproductive disease, memory disorder, immune system weakening, neurological disorders, and depression (Bonner and Alavanja 2017, Qi et al. 2018). Pesticides are not made up of single-component compounds with a specific structure, but rather include multiple mixtures and adjuvants (Wu et al. 2019). The residues of pesticides are biologically active, meaning that even minimal amounts can be highly toxic and dangerous (Qi et al. 2018).