Treatment of poisoning with nitrates and nitrites

From the time of consumption of products with nitrates until the first signs of poisoning with nitrates can pass from 1 to 6 hours. So if the symptoms of indigestion appear during this period, it is possible to suspect poisoning. But the problem is that other intoxications or diseases of the digestive tract can cause the same symptoms, so you should not make a diagnosis in this situation, there is a big risk of making a mistake.

And here's what you can do to try to remove some of the nitrates from the body, so it's to clear the stomach and intestines. If a person has vomiting and diarrhea, then purification occurs naturally. In the absence of vomiting, they must be called, stimulating the root of the tongue.

It is even better to wash the stomach with plenty of water (at least 1 liter). It can add salt or a few grains of potassium permanganate to make the solution light pink. Usually a large amount of warm water drunk in one go causes vomiting. If this does not happen, you need to induce vomiting by irritating the receptors located on the root of the tongue.

After the stomach is rinsed, there is usually some relief, nausea goes away and you can try a deeper cleansing with enterosorbents. Any preparations from this group come up, starting with "Activated charcoal" or "Sorbeks" and ending with "Polysorb" or "Carbolong".

If relief does not come, there is nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea, you can try to perform the procedure of gastric lavage again. Enterosorbents, which are taken orally, can be used only after cessation of vomiting, otherwise they will be useless.

It should be understood that washing the stomach with poisoning makes sense, if after consumption of products with nitrates, no more than 3-4 hours have passed. After that, nitrates can already be found in the intestines and blood. With easy poisoning, everything will gradually come back to normal, when severe, when symptoms of indigestion do not go away within 2-3 days, plus neurological manifestations, irregularities in the work of the heart, etc., without medical assistance can not be avoided.

If the temperature rises (and this does not always happen), it is necessary to monitor its performance, and to knock down only if it exceeds 39 degrees, which can cause negative processes in the body. If the temperature of the ambulance has fallen by the time the ambulance arrives, it still needs to be reported to the doctors.

When nitrates are poisoned, diarrhea is almost always present. Fight it in any case impossible, you need to allow the body to clean the intestines. But it is also not worthwhile to stimulate this symptom with strong laxatives or enemas, until the cause of its appearance is precisely established. In extreme cases, you can try to drink a salt laxative.

In order to inhibit the transition of nitrates to toxic substances (and part of the nitrogen salts under the influence of enzymes turns into nitrosamines, which are considered carcinogens and can contribute to the development of cancer), doctors recommend immediately taking several tablets of vitamin C ("ascorbic") immediately after stopping vomiting .

After the nausea and vomiting subsides, and the intestinal tract is cleared with enterosorbents, it will be necessary to start taking measures to restore the body. Symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea contribute to the elimination of fluid from the body and violate the water-salt balance. Therefore, in order to prevent a strong dehydration of the body, it is recommended to drink plenty of clean water. It will help to remove the remains of nitrite that has not got in the blood and will fill the volume of fluid in the body.

In the absence of nausea, you can drink not only water, but also tea. It is better if it is a strong tea with a slice of lemon and sugar, which also helps to restore strength. With food at first, after the disappearance of the symptoms of intoxication, you need to be cautious, gradually introducing into the diet cereals without oil, vegetables in boiled and stewed, dietary boiled meat (chicken, turkey, veal). Useful natural green tea, pickled cucumbers and cabbage (not pickled, and salted!). From it while it is necessary to refuse, so it from the use of alcoholic drinks which only aggravate a situation.

If the struggle with diarrhea and vomiting does not succeed, the patient becomes worse, neurological symptoms (coordination disorder, speech and vision disturbances, convulsive syndrome) and other dangerous manifestations appear, specialists will need help.

A prolonged course of vomiting and diarrhea will lead to severe dehydration, which will be manifested by a drop in blood pressure, a decrease in the amount of urine and the appearance of a sharp odor, and dryness of the mucous membranes. This condition also requires a specific treatment - taking drugs from dehydration ("Hydrovit", "Regidron", etc.). But oral administration of drugs and abundant drinking are again possible only in the absence of vomiting. If vomiting persists, only the infusion of liquids and rehydration medications can save the situation, which is possible in a hospital setting.

An alarming symptom of nitrate poisoning is the appearance in the feces of the blood, which indicates a strong irritation of the gastrointestinal mucosa with the formation of microdamages on it. In this case, you should also contact your doctor immediately.

Regardless of how long the symptoms of a stomach upset continue, you need to go to an ambulance if the poisoning is received by a child, a person of advanced age, or a future mother. Treatment of such patients should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor, i.e. In a hospital.

The measures we take at home are universal assistance for any food poisoning, regardless of what they were caused. But doctors already know better how to treat poisoning from melons, watermelon and other products with nitrates, using not only universal means, but specific ones, because they know what substances can neutralize nitrites and what dosages of drugs are needed .

Nitrites for hemoglobin are a kind of poison. And they, like many other poisons, have an antidote, i.e. A substance that neutralizes their effect. This is a solution of methylene blue, which is administered intravenously to patients immediately after the diagnosis of nitrate poisoning. This is necessary to restore normal hemoglobin, capable of transferring oxygen to the tissues of the body.

Additionally, oxygen therapy is prescribed, intravenously injected solutions of ascorbic acid and glucose, detoxification therapy is carried out. These measures can reduce the negative effects of oxygen starvation and contribute to the rapid removal of nitrites and nitrosamines from the body, because they themselves do not rush to leave the body (they tend to accumulate there).

If the effects of nitrate poisoning have begun to affect the work of the heart, a specific treatment will be needed that improves the tissue respiration of this vital organ: the administration of preparations containing coenzymes (vitamin derivatives) of "Cocarboxylase", B vitamins that will help remove neurologic symptoms, since they positively influence on the work of the central nervous system, insulin, which helps the metabolism of glucose and its transformation into energy.

Drugs for poisoning with nitrites and nitrates

Nitrate poisoning is not just a food intoxication, but a poisoning of the body with chemicals hidden in food and water. But the symptoms of such poisoning do not appear immediately, when the nitrate derivatives of nitrites pass from the digestive tract into the blood. Purification of the stomach and intestines in this case, as a first aid, is still carried out with the help of enterosorbents, but their choice should be carefully considered.

The smectites that we used to use from diarrhea for food poisoning in this case will be ineffective, but the time-tested " Activated Carbon " and its analogue with the prolonged action of "Sorbex" will come in handy, because they have a wider application and are effective in poisoning with chemicals . A good effect in this situation is provided by the preparations Polysorb, Enterosgel and Karbolong.

"Sorbeks" is a preparation in the form of capsules based on activated carbon. It has a long-term effect (up to 2 days), which makes it possible to reduce the number of medications. In the process of removing harmful substances makes them less toxic.

The drug should be taken between meals 3 times a day. For adults and adolescents older than 14 years, a single dose depending on the severity of poisoning can be from 2 to 4 capsules (not more than 8), children over 7 years of age will need 1-2 capsules per reception.

Take the drug can be within two weeks, which will not have a negative effect on bowel motility. If you take the drug for 15 days or more, you may experience constipation or the resumption of diarrhea, but of a different nature. Possible violations of absorption of nutrients in the intestine, which subsequently pours out in avitaminosis and other deficient conditions.

The drug should not be taken with hypersensitivity to its components, ulcerous or erosive process in the gastrointestinal tract at the stage of recurrence of the disease, with bleeding in the stomach or intestines, impaired intestinal passability.

If the child is injured, preparations in the form of capsules or tablets are unlikely to work for him. In this case, it is better to resort to the help of such drugs as "Polysorb", which is available in the form of a powder, or "Enterosgel" in the form of a paste that is acceptable for use from the newborn period.

Enterosgel is a preparation in the form of a silicon-containing paste, which is often used as detoxification therapy for various types of poisoning. A convenient form of the drug that is suitable for patients of any age, and the ability to improve the functionality of the liver and kidneys, and normalize blood counts will prove very useful in nitrate poisoning, which is often diagnosed among young children more sensitive to the adverse effects of these chemicals.

The drug is also taken between meals 3 times a day. The paste needs to be washed down with a lot of water, and for children up to the age of 2 she is immediately bred in water (in the amount that the baby can drink in one session).

The smallest patients are given 1 tsp for taking each other. Pasta, to children from 5 to 14 years, the dose is doubled (2 tsp). Patients older than 14 years can be given at a time 3 tsp. (1 tablespoon) of the drug.

In severe poisoning, the first 3 days are allowed to give a double dose of the medicine. Total treatment can last from 1 to 2 weeks.

The most common side effects during taking an enterosorbent are dyspeptic phenomena (bloating, gas, nausea). In the first days of taking the medicine, diarrhea can be replaced by constipation. In this case, it is desirable to do a cleansing enema for the night and apply laxatives.

Do not apply the drug with increased sensitivity to its components and intestinal obstruction.

Any poisoning that is accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea conceals the danger of dehydration. Therefore, as soon as you managed to defeat the vomiting, you should immediately start taking medications for rehydration (if vomiting continues for a long time, such medications are administered intravenously).

"Hydrovit" is a oral preparation in the form of a powder that helps restore the water-electrolyte balance in the course of dehydration of the body. Contains all the necessary minerals and salts, which are most often eliminated from the body as a result of diarrhea (Na +, K +, Cl-, HCO3-).

A solution is prepared from the powder immediately before use on the basis of purified or boiled water at room temperature. You can also use black or green tea. For 1 packet of medicine take 1 partial glass of liquid (200 ml).

Adult patients should take a single dose in one dose completely, children can be divided into several times and given in small portions.

Babies under 3 years of age need to use 3 to 5 bags of the drug a day, diluting it in water. Children up to 10-12 years of age should be given a solution after each act of defecation, using 1 sachet. Children of the elderly age after each emptying of the intestine give a solution of 1-2 packets of the drug. The same dosage is used to treat adults.

In case of severe dehydration, the dosage can be increased.

Treatment is usually carried out for 1-2 days.

The drug is usually well tolerated by patients. There are isolated cases of nausea and vomiting, and there are rare symptoms of allergy to the drug. In patients with diabetes, a drug containing glucose can cause an increase in blood sugar.

The medicine has some contraindications to the use. This is a dyspersitivity of the components of the drug, an excess of potassium in the body (hyperkalemia), depression of the central nervous system, a violation of the acid-base balance, a violation of carbohydrate metabolism (congenital pathology, called glucose-galactose malabsorption), severe renal dysfunction.

The drug can be taken, but caution is required in patients with heart failure, hypertension, diabetes mellitus.

To eliminate the effects of dehydration in severe poisoning with nitrates intravenously inject saline, glucose, drugs that restore the water-electrolyte balance.

In a hospital as an antidote to nitrates, 1% aqueous solution of "Methylene blue" is injected intravenously (it can be diluted with glucose solution). The powder of this drug has a disinfecting effect, normalizes the redox processes in the body, is the supplier of hydrogen ions.

When poisoning with nitrites, aniline and other substances forming methemoglobin, the drug acts as an antidote. In these cases, the amount of solution corresponding to the weight of the patient is intravenously administered, which is calculated by the formula: 0.1-0.15 ml for each kilogram of the weight of the victim.

The administration of the drug may be accompanied by nausea, damage to the tissues of the kidneys and bladder, anemia. There may be allergic reactions.

The detoxification agent is not used for hypersensitivity to its components. Do not treat him with infants. But during pregnancy and lactation as an emergency aid with the permission of a doctor, the use of the medicine is possible.

Since nitrate poisoning can cause severe dehydration of the body and as a result of its acidification (acidosis), and also leads to disruption of the cardiovascular system, specific therapy with vitamins and their derivatives is required to restore the normal functioning of important organs and systems.

"Cocarboxylase" is a derivative of vitamins (coenzyme of thiamine), which reduces the symptoms of acidosis and restores normal cardiac activity.

The drug can be administered intravenously and intramuscularly in a single dose of 50 to 100 mg (per day not more than 200 mg). If hypoxia caused cardiac dysfunction, treatment can last from 2 weeks to 1 month.

If the drug is administered intramuscularly, the ampoule with the drug is dissolved in 2 ml of water for injection. For intravenous injections, the drug is mixed with saline solution to a volume of 10-20 ml. Intravenous infusions are carried out with a drug that is diluted in 200-400 ml of saline or glucose solution.

The drug can be used even for the treatment of newborns, if the poisoning with nitrates led to hypoxia and acidosis. Once a day, babies are injected intravenously slowly, calculating the dose as 10 mg per kilogram of the child's weight.

Older children, depending on the severity of the condition, the drug is administered intravenously or intramuscularly. The daily dose can be from 25 to 50 mg of the drug. The course of treatment usually does not exceed 7 days, but there may be exceptions.

Side effects of the drug are reduced to redness and swelling at the injection site and various allergic reactions.

When administered simultaneously with cardiac glycosides, it improves their effect.

Do not prescribe medicine for hypersensitivity to coenzyme. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, a doctor's consultation is required.

No matter how effective the described drugs are, you need to remember that at home you can only treat light poisoning, which is not accompanied by a serious disruption of the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. Severe cases of nitrate poisoning are already the competence of specialist doctors. They require a completely different approach to treatment, which can be provided in a hospital.

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Non-traditional treatment

Nitrate poisoning is a difficult test for the body. Depending on the dose of nitrous salts that have got into the body, it can proceed in a mild form with the appearance of symptoms of a stomach disorder or severe, when neurologic, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders attach to these symptoms. With a mild form of poisoning the body cope on its own after taking elementary measures to eliminate intoxication. The disappearance of the symptoms of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting suggests that the danger has passed.

In the case of a mild form of poisoning, you can resort to some recipes for folk treatment, which, of course, will not remove nitrites from the body, but help reduce the toxic effect on the body of nitrosamines and restore normal gastrointestinal function.

Alternative prescriptions should be used not in the acute period of poisoning, but when the main symptoms go to a recession and the patient's condition stabilizes. Any means that are intended for oral administration, it makes sense to use when there is no vomiting.

For example, as an antitoxic substance to reduce the effects of poisoning, you can take a decoction of chicory. Chicory is better to take in powder. 1 cup of boiling water is enough for 1 cup of boiling water. Chicory. The composition insists in a warm place (it is better to use a thermos bottle) for several hours, after which it is divided into four parts, each of which must be drunk half an hour before meals.

If the symptoms of poisoning subsided, but there is exhausting vomiting while the stomach is already rinsed enough, it can be calmed down with the help of such a composition: for 1 liter of warm boiled water we take 1.5 tablespoons. Sugar and 1 tsp. Salt and soda. This composition should be drunk for 3 hours.

Reduces useless vomiting and lemon. It can be eaten a little in its pure form or added to tea. As tea it is better to take an infusion of mint, which will soothe the irritated stomach.

When a person can already eat, preference should be given to the porridge. They cleanse the intestines well and are suppliers of useful vitamins and minerals. To restore digestion, you can consume kefir and natural yoghurt without additives. You can add to the sour milk products flax seed, apple slices or lemon juice.

In the restoration of the intestines, herbal treatment is very helpful  . For this purpose, it is possible to apply collections of fruits and plants:

• Blueberries (berries), mint (leaflets), snake mountaineer (rhizome) - 2 parts, chamomile (flowers) - 3 parts.
• Egggrass (rhizome), cumin (seeds) - 1 part, immortelle (flowers), blueberries ((berries) - 2 parts, sage (leaves) - 3 parts.
• Arable land - 2 parts, mint - 8 parts.
• Bird cherries (fruits) - 6 parts, blueberries (berries) - 4 parts.
• Horse sorrel and mountaineer, taken in equal parts.

Infusions of herbs take ¼-1/2 cups half an hour before meals 2 to 4 times a day.

If it is a serious form of the disease, then rely on recipes for alternative medicine and herbal treatment is not particularly necessary. You should not waste precious time searching for potions that will help to remove nitrates from the body at home. Such funds do not exist, but in the hospital doctors can always offer an antidote that will not allow nitrite to further destroy the hemoglobin molecules.

Any alternative means for restoring normal body functioning can be applied with the permission of the attending physician after the patient's condition has been stabilized by traditional methods.

As for homeopathy, here in the treatment of poisoning apply the principle of identity using drugs of potentiated chemical toxins. Those. homeopathy  offers the same nitrates contained in the preparations Acidum nitricum, Argentum nitricum (nitrate of silver), Kalium nitricum (potassium nitrate) to accelerate the excretion of nitrates  . How such treatment works, it is not so easy to explain, but there is an opinion that almost all poisons in small doses with their regular intake gradually reduce the sensitivity of the organism to them. Plus the influence of such a factor as self-hypnosis, i.e. Confidence in the effectiveness of a relatively safe homeopathic treatment, which activates the protective functions of the body.