Have you been scared of being poisoned? From foods, for instance? Naturally, that is why we wash our food and cook it right. We know that in case we do not, we could easily get an upset stomach, headaches or diarrhea. What you don't know is that we ingest poisons we aren't informed of, and may get very sick over time that you may die. Symptoms can appear extremely late and be so unspecific that help may arrive very late.
August 14, 1996, Karen Wetterhahn, the professor of chemistry that was specializing in harmful metal exposure at Dartmouth College, accidentally spilled a few drops of a colorless Mercury part called dimethyl mercury on the hands of her, covered by
latex gloves. She were aware that dimethyl mercury is extremely toxic, what she did not understand was it can and did penetrate her undamaged latex gloves and the skin of her, lethal poisoning the entire body of her within 15 seconds. She felt fine and did not have any symptoms See for yourself [
mouse click the up coming article] months & considered herself healthy. Six weeks later, she became very ill and was admitted to the hospital in January of 1997. She went right into a coma, despite undergoing treatment - and died that June.
What strikes me in this instance is that even though everyone knew she was dealing with mercury, they couldn't create a diagnosis early enough to save her life. That is how dangerous toxins are, and just how tough it's to diagnose poisoning.
But she wasn't on your own.
210 BC. Ancient China.The Emperor of the United China and the initiator of the Great Wall of China project: Uin Shi Huang, was looking for
eternal life. But how might he get it? He believed it was undetectable in Penglai City on Penglai Mountain, which was the base of the Eight Immortals. The Emperor sent a huge number of males on ships to find this mountain. No one came back again, because they knew that without the elixir of life they would be murdered. So, they went forward and found as well as colonized Japan - that is why the Chinese Emperor needed to get' magic pills' from his researchers and medical doctors, and after taking them he died. The reason: those capsules contained mercury. Those pills didn't make him immortal, however, they made the name of his immortal as he became the 1st famous man poisoned and killed by one of the most harmful and well known contemporary poisons - mercury.
The freedom of being poisoned by mercury however does not just belong to individuals which are famous.
Have you ever heard the expression: "mad as a hatter"? You almost certainly have. What you might not understand is in the 18th and 19th centuries, many users felt hat manufacturing employees went mad from mercury exposure used in the ways for curing animal pelts. Apparently mad was Theophillius Carter, who Lewis Carroll, the author of " Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ", personally knew and was believed to have inspired the vivacious character' the Mad Hatter'.
Mercury is extremely dangerous: it damages the brain, nerves, kidneys and lungs. It leads to fatigue, pain, itching, swelling, hair and tooth loss, muscle weakness, memory problems, irritability, character changes and insomnia. Since it prevents the body of yours from clearing catecholamines, you have too much epinephrine with resulting heart tremors, hypertension as well as sweating. But does this dangerous toxin get into the body of yours?