A strong substance that can kill a person. The strongest poison. Methanol, or methyl alcohol

Let's start with the "king" of poisons - Arsenic. Until 1832, arsenic poisoning was extremely difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms of poisoning with this poison were similar to those of cholera. This similarity made it possible to disguise the use of arsenic and its compounds as a deadly poison.

In acute arsenic poisoning, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, depression of the central nervous system are observed.

Antidote: aqueous sodium thiosulfate solution, dimercaprol.

Cyanide

Potassium cyanide, or potassium cyanide, is the most powerful inorganic poison. It looks like granulated sugar.

When it enters the body, the cells stop absorbing oxygen, as a result of which the body dies from interstitial hypoxia. Potassium cyanide is absorbed very quickly and therefore death occurs within 15 minutes.

Sarin gas

Sarin gas is a poisonous substance with a nerve-paralytic effect.

The first signs of a person's exposure to Sarin are nasal discharge, chest congestion, and constriction of the pupils. Shortly thereafter, the victim has difficulty breathing, nausea and increased salivation. Then the victim completely loses control over bodily functions. This phase is accompanied by convulsions. Ultimately, the victim falls into a comatose state and suffocates in a fit of convulsive spasms, followed by cardiac arrest.

Antidote: Atropine, Pralidoxime, Diazepam, Athens.

diamphotoxin

Diamphotoxin is the most powerful poison of animal origin on our planet, contained in the blood of the larvae of the South African leaf beetle.

Able to reduce the content of hemoglobin in the blood by 75% in a short period of time due to the massive destruction of red blood cells.

Antidote: There is no specific antidote.

Ricin

Ricin is the most powerful plant-derived poison, which is obtained from the castor beans of the castor bean plant.

To kill an adult, a few grains are enough. Ricin kills cells in the human body by preventing the production of the proteins it needs, resulting in organ failure. A person can become poisoned by ricin through inhalation or after ingestion.

If inhaled, symptoms of poisoning usually appear 8 hours after exposure and include difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea, sweating, and chest tightness.

If swallowed, symptoms appear in less than 6 hours and include nausea, low blood pressure, hallucinations, and seizures. Death can occur in 36-72 hours.

Antidote: There is no specific antidote.

Some animals have the amazing ability to kill with toxic chemicals or poison. This method is considered one of the most cowardly, insidious and effective. In this article, you will discover 11 poisonous animals in the world that can easily kill an adult human.

There are "passively" venomous animals (which transfer their venom when eaten or attacked by other animals) and "actively" venomous animals (which inject venom into their prey using stingers, fangs, or other devices.

Most Venomous Amphibian: Dread Leaf Climber

It lives only in the rainforests of the western part of Colombia. The poison of one frog can kill 10 to 20 people. (Only one kind of snake Liophis epinephelus, is resistant to the venom of the dread leaf climber, however, if exposed to a sufficiently large amount of the toxin, the reptile may die).

Interestingly, the terrible leafcreeper produces poison from its diet of native ants and beetles; individuals kept in captivity and feeding on fruit flies and other common insects are completely harmless.

Most Venomous Spider: Brazilian Wandering Spider

If you suffer from arachnophobia (fear of spiders), there is good and bad news for you about Brazilian wandering spiders. The good news is that these spiders live in the tropics of South America, and do not always inject a full dose of poison during a bite, and also rarely attack people; even better news is that an effective antidote (if administered quickly) avoids death. The bad news is that spider venom contains powerful neurotoxins that slowly paralyze and suffocate their victims, even in microscopic doses.

Men bitten by Brazilian wandering spiders often experience painful erections.

Most Venomous Snake: McCoy's Taipan

The venom of this Australian snake is the most powerful among land snakes. Toxic substances contained in one individual can kill hundreds of adults. (Its venom consists of neurotoxins, hemotoxins, mycotoxins, and nephrotoxins. This means it can dissolve your blood, brain, muscles, and kidneys before you hit the ground.) Fortunately, this venomous snake rarely comes into contact with humans, and even when that happens (if you know how to interact with her), she becomes quite meek and easy to tame.

Most Poisonous Fish: Warthog

This fish lives in shallow waters in the South Pacific. It looks ominous, like a stone or a piece of coral (disguise is meant to protect against predators) and if stepped on, the wart injects a powerful dose of toxins into the human foot.

The Australian authorities are actively replenishing stocks of antidotes, so there is a high probability of saving lives (provided that the antidote is administered in a timely manner).

Most Poisonous Insect: Maricopa Ant

Ants Maricopa ( Pogonomyrmex maricopa) are quite dangerous insects. About 300 bites from these ants can cause death in an adult. Their venom is much stronger than that of hornets and honey bees. One bite of such an ant causes acute pain that lasts about 4 hours.

Fortunately, it is nearly impossible to accidentally step on a Maricopa ant colony and receive hundreds of stings; these insects are known to build nests with a diameter of about 9 m and a height of up to 2 m!

Most poisonous jellyfish: Sea wasp

Box jellyfish (jellyfish, characterized by a rectangular bell shape) are by far the most dangerous invertebrates in the world, and the sea wasp ( Chironex fleckeri) is considered the most poisonous species of jellyfish on the planet. The tentacles of the sea wasp are covered with nematocytes, stinging cells that, on contact, cause burns.

Most people who come into contact with the tentacles of a sea wasp experience excruciating pain, but a close encounter with a member of this species can kill you in five minutes.

Most venomous mammal: Platypus

Of course, the poison of a platypus will not cause the death of a person, but it will bring severe pain and swelling. Its venom can kill small animals. On the hind limbs of males there are spurs (about 15 mm long) that contain poison. Most often, males use these spurs to fight each other during the breeding season.

Other poisonous mammals are: 3 species from the shrew family and the Cuban flint tooth ( Solenodon cubanus).

Most Poisonous Clam: Marble Cone

If you have never had to use the phrase "predatory sea snail", then you obviously do not know enough marine animals that can kill you with a single bite. This mollusk is able to paralyze its prey (including other snails of the genus Conus) with a toxic poison that can easily kill a careless person.

Unfortunately, no one has ever calculated how much poison can harm an adult.

Most poisonous bird: Bicolor thrush flycatcher

The two-colored thrush flycatcher from New Guinea contains a powerful poison called batrachotoxin. It is found in the skin and feathers of birds, and can cause mild numbness and tingling in humans, but is much more dangerous for small animals. (Apparently, thrush flycatchers synthesize poison from beetles that are part of their diet (these beetles are also included in the diet of poison dart frogs).

Another well-known poisonous bird is the common quail, whose meat (if the bird has consumed a plant of a certain species) can lead to a non-fatal disease for humans called "cothurnism".

Most poisonous octopus: Blue-ringed octopus

Blue-ringed octopuses live in the Indian and Pacific oceans and are quite modest in size (the largest individuals rarely exceed 20 cm). Their bite is virtually painless, but the venom causes paralysis and can kill an adult human in just a few minutes.

Currently, there is no antidote for the bite of the blue-ringed octopus.

Most poisonous turtle: Bissa

Unlike some of the other animals on this list, the hawksbill turtle is not miniature: adults weigh around 80kg, about the same as the average human. These turtles are distributed throughout the world, and individuals from Southeast Asia that eat toxic algae have poisonous meat that can cause poisoning in humans (poisoning symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other intestinal ailments).

These turtles are endangered and protected by law.

In the world there are many poisons of very different nature. Some of them act almost instantly, others can torment the victim of poisoning for years, slowly destroying it from the inside. True, the concept of poison has no clear boundaries. It all depends on concentration. And often the same substance can act both as a deadly poison and as one of the most necessary components for sustaining life. Vitamins are a striking example of such duality - even a slight excess of their concentration can completely destroy health or kill on the spot. Here we offer a look at 10 substances that are pure poisons, and are included in the group of the most dangerous and fastest acting.

(Total 10 photos)

A fairly large group of salts of hydrocyanic acid is called cyanides. All of them, like the acid itself, are extremely poisonous. In the last century, both hydrocyanic acid and cyanogen chloride have been used as chemical warfare agents, and have accounted for tens of thousands of lives.

Potassium cyanide is also famous for its extreme toxicity. Only 200-300 mg of this white powder, resembling granulated sugar, is enough to kill an adult in just a few seconds. Thanks to such a low dosage and incredibly quick death, this poison was chosen to die by Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Goering and other Nazis.

They tried to poison Grigory Rasputin with this poison. True, the poisoners mixed cyanide into sweet wine and cakes, not knowing that sugar is one of the most powerful antidotes for this poison. So in the end, they had to use a gun.

2. Anthrax bacillus

Anthrax is a very severe, rapidly developing disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. There are several forms of anthrax. The most "harmless" is skin. Even in the absence of treatment, mortality from this form does not exceed 20%. The intestinal form kills about half of the sick, but the pulmonary form is almost certain death. Even with the help of the latest treatment methods, modern doctors manage to save no more than 5% of patients.

Sarin was created by German scientists who were trying to synthesize a powerful pesticide. But this deadly poison, which causes a quick but very painful death, acquired its gloomy glory not in agricultural fields, but as a chemical weapon. Sarin was produced by the ton for military purposes for decades, and it was not until 1993 that its production was banned. But, despite calls for the complete destruction of all stocks of this substance, in our time it is used by both terrorists and the military.

4. Amatoxins

Amatoxins are a whole group of poisons of a protein nature contained in poisonous mushrooms of the amanite family, including the deadly pale grebe. The particular danger of these poisons lies in their "slowness". Once in the human body, they immediately begin their destructive activity, but the victim begins to feel the first ailment no earlier than 10 hours later, and sometimes even after several days, when it is already very difficult for doctors to do anything. Even if such a patient can be saved, he will still suffer for the rest of his life from painful violations of the functions of the liver, kidneys and lungs.

5. Strychnine

Strychnine is found in large quantities in the nuts of the tropical tree chilibuha. It was from them that it was obtained in 1818 by the French chemists Pelletier and Cavantou. In small doses, strychnine can be used as a drug that increases metabolic processes, improves heart function and treats paralysis. It was even actively used as an antidote for barbiturate poisoning.

However, it is one of the most powerful poisons. Its lethal dose is even less than that of the famous potassium cyanide, but it acts much more slowly. Death from strychnine poisoning occurs after about half an hour of terrible torment and severe convulsions.

Mercury is extremely dangerous in all its manifestations, but its vapors and soluble compounds are especially harmful. Even small amounts of mercury that enter the body cause severe damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys and the entire gastrointestinal tract.

When small amounts of mercury enter the body, the process of poisoning proceeds gradually, but inevitably, since this poison is not excreted, but, on the contrary, accumulates. In ancient times, mercury was widely used for the production of mirrors, as well as felt for hats. Chronic poisoning with mercury vapor, which was expressed in a disorder of behavior up to complete insanity, at that time was called the "disease of the old hatter".

7. Tetrodotoxin

This extremely strong poison is found in the liver, milk and caviar of the famous puffer fish, as well as in the skin and caviar of some species of tropical frogs, octopuses, crabs and caviar of the Californian newt. Europeans first became acquainted with the effects of this poison in 1774, when the crew ate an unknown tropical fish on the ship of James Cook, and the slop from lunch was given to the ship's pigs. By morning, all the people were seriously ill, and the pigs were dead.

Tetrodotoxin poisoning is very severe, and even today doctors manage to save less than half of all poisoned people.

It is interesting to note that the famous Japanese delicacy fugu fish is prepared from fish in which the content of the most dangerous toxin exceeds the lethal dose for humans. Lovers of this treat literally entrust their lives to the art of the cook. But, no matter how hard the cooks try, accidents cannot be avoided, and every year several gourmets die after eating an exquisite dish.

Ricin is an extremely powerful plant poison. A great danger is the inhalation of its smallest grains. Ricin is about 6 times more potent than potassium cyanide, but was not used as a weapon of mass destruction due to purely technical difficulties. But various special services and terrorists are very "loving" this substance. Politicians and public figures receive letters stuffed with ricin with enviable regularity. True, it rarely comes to a fatal outcome, since the penetration of ricin through the lungs has a rather low efficiency. For a 100% result, it is necessary to inject ricin directly into the blood.

9. VX (VX)

VX, or, as it is also called, VI-gas, belongs to the category of military poison gases that have a nerve-paralytic effect. He, too, was born as a new pesticide, but soon the military began to use it for their own purposes. Symptoms of poisoning with this gas appear within one minute after inhalation or contact with the skin, and death occurs after 10-15 minutes.

10. Botulinum toxin

Botulinum toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which are the causative agents of the most dangerous disease - botulism. It is the most powerful organic poison and one of the strongest poisons in the world. In the last century, botulinum toxin was part of the arsenal of chemical weapons, but at the same time, active research was carried out regarding its use in medicine. And today, a huge number of people who want to at least temporarily restore the smoothness of the skin experience the influence of this terrible poison, which is part of the most popular Botox drug, which once again confirms the validity of the famous saying of the great Paracelsus: “Everything is poison, everything - medicine; both are determined by the dose.

Often people think of poisons as a myth from Shakespeare's dramas, or torn from the pages of Agatha Christie's novels. But in fact, poison can be found everywhere: in cute little bottles under the kitchen sink, in our drinking water, and even in our blood. Below are ten of the most subtle poisons in the world, some of them exotic, others frighteningly everyday.

10. Hydrogen Cyanide

Despite the terrible stigma attached to cyanide, its history is rich and fruitful. Some scientists even believe that cyanide may have been one of the chemicals that helped form life on earth. Today it is better known as the lethal substance, the active ingredient in Zyklon-B, which the Nazis used to exterminate Jews in showers. Cyanide is a chemical used as capital punishment in the gas chambers of the United States. Those who have come into contact with this substance describe its smell as similar to that of sweet almonds. Cyanide kills by binding to the iron in our blood cells and destroying them, rendering them unable to carry oxygen throughout the body. Most states in the US have stopped using the gas chamber, as this type of death penalty is considered unnecessarily cruel. Death can take several minutes and is often terrifying to watch, as the condemned writhe in agony and salivate profusely as the body tries to prevent death.

9. Hydrofluoric or Hydrofluoric acid(Hydrofluoric acid)


Hydrofluoric acid is used in a number of industries such as metallurgy and even in the manufacture of Teflon. There are far more powerful acids in the world than hydrofluoric acid, but few of them are as dangerous to humans. In gaseous form, it can easily burn out eyes and lungs, but in liquid form, it is especially insidious. Initially, upon contact with human skin, it is completely imperceptible. Due to the fact that it does not cause pain on contact, people can get seriously poisoned without noticing it. It passes through the skin into the bloodstream, where it reacts with calcium in the body. In the worst cases, it seeps through the tissue and destroys the bone underneath.

8. Batrachotoxin


Fortunately for most of us, our chance of encountering batrachotoxin is incredibly small. Batrachotoxin is one of the most powerful neurotoxins in the world and is found in the skin of tiny poison dart frogs. The frogs themselves do not produce poison, it is produced in their bodies from the food they eat, most likely from eating tiny beetles. There are several different versions of the poison depending on the type of frog, the most dangerous is the type of batrachotoxin produced by the Colombian frog called the terrible leafcreeper. This frog is so tiny that it can fit on the tip of your finger, but the venom on the skin of one frog is enough to kill about two dozen people, or a couple of elephants. The toxin attacks the nerves, opening their sodium channels and causing paralysis, essentially shutting down the entire body's ability to communicate with itself. There is no antidote in the world, and death comes very quickly.

7. Nerve gas VX (VX Nerve Gas)


Banned from use by the Chemical Weapons Convention (the world's reserves of this gas are gradually declining), VX nerve gas is considered the most powerful nerve gas in the world. The danger of this gas, discovered quite by accident in 1952 during the chemical testing of organophosphates, was quickly discovered. Mass marketed as a pesticide called "Amiton", it was soon taken off the market due to its too great a danger to society. It soon attracted the attention of world governments, as it was a time of political turmoil in the Cold War, and the gas was being stockpiled for potential war use. Luckily no one started a war and the VX was never used in combat. A cultist from the Japanese group Aum Shinriyko stole some of this gas and used it to kill a person - this was the only known human death caused by VX gas. The gas stops the production of enzymes in the nerves, leaving the nerves in a state of constant activity, creating a "storm" in the nervous system that quickly overloads and destroys the body.

6 Agent Orange


Almost everyone has heard of the defoliant Agent Orange, created by Dow Chemical and Monsanto (which are considered the most malicious corporations in the world). Agent Orange was used during the Vietnam War to uproot trees that were hiding places for enemy soldiers and to destroy crops in the countryside. Unfortunately, in addition to the plant-killing agent, the herbicides contained a chemical dioxin called TCDD (tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), a known carcinogen that causes a significant increase in the risk of cancer, especially lymphoma, in those who are exposed to it. In addition, tens of thousands of Vietnamese children were born stillborn or with birth defects such as cleft palate, extra fingers and toes, and mental retardation. Vietnam remains very polluted to this day.

5. Ricin


Derived from the castor beans, ricin is one of the deadliest poisons. A small dose, a volume comparable to a few grains of salt, is enough to kill an adult. The venom stops the production of proteins the body needs to survive, causing victims to go into shock. Because of its uncomplicated manufacturing process, ricin has been weaponized by many governments around the world, and has been used at least once to kill dissident Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov in 1978 with ricin pellets shot on a London street. It is believed that the Bulgarian secret police and/or the KGB were responsible for the murder.

4. Arsenic (Arsenic)


Arsenic metalloid has been used for centuries for everything from weapons to cosmetics during the Victorian era (when morbid pallor was considered the fashion of the ladies). During the Dark Ages, arsenic became a popular poison for assassins due to its effect - arsenic poisoning is similar in symptoms to cholera, which was widespread in those days. Arsenic attacks adenosine triphosphatase in human cells, cutting off the energy supply. Arsenic is a very nasty substance that, in high concentrations, can cause various types of gastrointestinal disturbances with bloody discharges, convulsions, coma and death. In small amounts taken on a regular basis (for example, through arsenic-contaminated water), arsenic causes a range of diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

3. Lead


Lead is one of the very first metals used by man. Its first smelting was made 8,000 years ago. However, its dangerous effects on the body only became known a few decades ago - lead affects every organ in the human body, so lead poisoning manifests itself through a range of symptoms, from diarrhea to mental retardation. Children are especially at risk of poisoning - lead exposure to the fetus causes pathological neurological disorders. Strangest of all, many forensic scientists believe that the worldwide decline in violent crime is at least partly the result of increased restrictions on the use of lead. Children born after 1980 were much less exposed to lead and, as a result, are less prone to violence.

2. Brodifacoum


Immediately after the end of World War II, the poison warfarin began to be used as a rodenticide (and interestingly enough, it was also used as an anticoagulant for people with bleeding disorders). But rats are known for their ability to survive at all costs, and over time, many of them developed resistance to warfarin. Therefore, he was replaced by brodifacoum. An extremely lethal anticoagulant, brodifacoum lowers the amount of vitamin K in the blood. Due to the fact that vitamin K is necessary for the process of blood clotting, the body is exposed to severe internal bleeding over time, as blood is spilled throughout the body from the rupture of tiny capillaries. Brodifacoum, sold under brands such as Havoc, Talon, and Jaguar, must be handled with great care as it easily penetrates the skin and remains in the body for many months.

1. Strychnine


Derived primarily from a tree called the chilibuha, which is native to India and southeast Asia, strychnine is an alkaloid and is used as a pesticide, especially in rodent control. Death caused by strychnine poisoning is terribly painful. Being a neurotoxin, strychnine attacks the spinal nerves, causing spasms and violent muscle contractions. Oskar Dirlewanger, the Nazi commander of the SS during World War II, injected his prisoners with strychnine and amused himself by stroking the way they writhe. Strychnine is one of the few substances on this list that is both cheap and available on the market. It's possible that strychnine is sold at your local hardware store under a name like "Rodent Killer" or something like that.

Any toxic substances, whether chemical or vegetable, pose a serious danger to the body. Science knows dozens and hundreds of the strongest poisons, many of which are used by man himself, and far from being for good deeds - this is terrorism, and genocide, and much more. But there were also times when poisons were considered medicines. One way or another, toxic substances are still subjected to active research in laboratories. What is the most powerful poison in the world?

Cyanide

Cyanides are a class of harmful potent substances that are dangerous to humans. Their toxicity is explained by the instantaneous effect on the respiratory functions of cells, which, in turn, stops the work of the whole organism. Cells stop functioning, organs fail. All this leads to a severe condition, fraught with death. Cyanide itself is a derivative of hydrocyanic acid.

Externally, cyanide is a white powder with a crystalline structure. It is rather unstable and dissolves well in water. We are talking about the most famous form - potassium cyanide, and there is also sodium cyanide, which is also quite toxic. The poison is obtained not only in the laboratory, but also extracted from plants. It is important to know that some foods may contain this substance in small amounts. The danger is fraught with almonds, fruit seeds. But poisoning is cumulative.

Cyanide is often used in industrial production - in particular, the production of paper, some fabrics, plastics, as well as in reagents for photo development. In metallurgy, cyanide is used to purify metals from impurities; and in the grain stores they destroy rodents with means based on this poison. The lethal dose of the most dangerous poison in the world is 0.1 mg / l, and death occurs within an hour. If the number is greater, then after ten minutes. First, a person loses consciousness, then stops breathing, and then the heart stops.

For the first time this substance was isolated by the German chemist Bunsen, and in 1845 manufacturing methods were developed on an industrial scale.

Anthrax spores

These substances are the causative agents of an extremely dangerous infectious disease, most often ending in death. At risk of catching Bacillus Anthracis are people who come into contact with agricultural livestock. Spores can be stored for a very long time in the land of the animal burial ground.

The disease has been killing people for many centuries, especially in the Middle Ages. And only in the 19th century, Louis Pasteur managed to create a vaccine against it. He studied the resistance of animals to poisons by injecting them with a weakened strain of the ulcer, as a result of which immunity was developed. In 2010, US scientists created an even more effective vaccine against the disease.

Anthrax spores are found in all secretions of a sick animal, falling with them into water and earth. Thus, they can spread hundreds of kilometers from the source of infection. In African countries, insects that drink blood can also become infected with poison. Incubation ranges from several hours to seven days. The poison causes irreparable damage to blood vessels, causing swelling, loss of sensitivity, inflammation. Carbuncles begin to appear on the skin; especially dangerous if they occur on the face. Subsequently, a host of other unpleasant symptoms can occur, from diarrhea to bloody vomiting. Often at the end of the patient waiting for a fatal outcome.

The disease caused by anthrax spores develops extremely rapidly and gives terrible external and internal lesions.

Many residents of Russia remember this name from school life safety lessons. One of the most poisonous substances on Earth since 1991 has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction. And it was discovered in 1938 by a chemical company in Germany and from the very beginning was intended for military purposes.

Under normal conditions, Sarin is an odorless liquid that evaporates quickly. Since it cannot be smelled, poisoning can only be guessed when symptoms appear.

Moreover, poisoning occurs both through inhalation of steam, and through contact with the skin or ingestion into the oral cavity.

Sarin binds certain enzymes, in particular protein, so that it can no longer support nerve fibers.

A mild degree of poisoning is expressed in shortness of breath and weakness. With an average - there is a narrowing of the pupils, lacrimation, severe headache, nausea, trembling of the extremities. If you do not provide timely assistance, then death occurs in 100% of cases, but even if assistance is provided, then every second poisoned person dies. The severe degree is characterized by the same symptoms as the average, but they are more pronounced and progress faster. Vomiting opens, spontaneous excretion of feces and urine, a headache of incredible strength appears. A minute later, a person faints, five minutes later he dies from damage to the respiratory center.

Sarin was not used in World War II due to Hitler's prejudice against poison gases.

Amatoxin

This is the most powerful poison of those that are independently produced in nature, it is more powerful than the poison of any snake. It is mainly found in white toadstools and, when ingested, affects the kidneys and liver, and then gradually kills all cells over several days.

The poison is very insidious: the first symptoms appear only after 12 hours, and sometimes up to a day. Of course, gastric lavage is then too late, you need to call an ambulance. Within two days, traces of amatoxin can be detected in the urine test. Activated charcoal and cephalosporin can also help the patient, and in especially difficult cases, one has to resort to a liver transplant. But even after the cure, the patient may still suffer from heart, kidney and liver failure for a long time.

A large dose of penicillin is used as an antidote; if it is not introduced, then a person dies on average per week

It is a poison of plant origin, most often used in the persecution of small rodents. It has been produced in the laboratory since 1818, extracting from the seeds of the African chilibukha plant. Strychnine is mentioned in many detective novels, where characters die from exposure to this substance. One of the properties of strychnine is also played up: at the very beginning, it causes a sharp and powerful surge of strength by blocking some neurotransmitters.

The substance is used in the manufacture of medicines, but preparations containing strychnine nitrate are prescribed only in the most extreme cases. Indirect indications for use may be neurological diseases in which nerve impulses are inhibited; poor appetite; impotence; severe forms of alcoholism that cannot be cured by other methods.

Symptoms of poisoning with this poison are similar to the primary symptoms of tetanus. These are difficulty breathing, chewing and swallowing, fear of light and convulsions.

A dose of 1 milligram per 1 kilogram of body weight leads to a lethal outcome.

The first information about mercury came to us from the depths of time, it is mentioned in documents from 350 BC, and archaeological excavations have found even more ancient traces. The metal was widely used and continues to be used in medicine, art, and industry. Its vapors are extremely toxic, and poisoning can be both instantaneous and cumulative. First of all, the nervous system is harmed, and then the rest of the body systems.

The initial symptoms of mercury poisoning are trembling of the fingers and eyelids, later - of all parts of the body. Then there are problems with the gastrointestinal tract, insomnia, headache, vomiting, memory impairment. In case of poisoning by vapors, and not by mercury compounds, the respiratory tract is initially noticed. If exposure to the substance is not stopped in a timely manner, it can lead to death.

The consequences of mercury poisoning can be inherited

Most often, a person encounters mercury from a thermometer, especially if it is broken. But not everyone knows exactly how to act in this situation. First you need to quickly collect all the parts of the thermometer and the balls of mercury. This must be done as carefully as possible, because the remaining particles can cause irreparable harm to residents, especially children and animals. This is done with rubber gloves. In hard-to-reach places, you can collect mercury with a syringe or patch. Put everything collected in a tightly closed container.

The next step is a thorough treatment of the premises, which is also carried out with gloves (already new) and a medical mask. A highly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate is suitable for processing. Wipe absolutely all surfaces in the house with this solution using a rag. Fill any gaps, cracks and other depressions with mortar. It is advisable to leave everything in this form for at least a day. For the next few days, ventilate the room daily.

You can call specialists who will make sure that there is no mercury and its vapors in the house if the thermometer is broken

Tetrodotoxin

The most effective defense mechanisms of those with which nature endowed living beings are neurotoxins. These are substances that specifically damage the nervous system. Tetrodotoxin is perhaps the most dangerous and unusual of them. It is found in a variety of both terrestrial and aquatic animals. The substance tightly blocks the channels of nerve cells, which causes muscle paralysis.

The most common poison was poisoned in Japan by eating fugu fish. It is surprising that today this fish is still used in cooking and is considered a delicacy - however, you need to know what parts are there and in what season to catch fish. Poisoning occurs extremely quickly, in some cases as early as six hours. It begins with a slight tingling of the lips and tongue, followed by vomiting and weakness, after which the patient falls into a coma. Effective emergency measures of assistance have not yet been developed. Only artificial respiration can prolong life, because before death, breathing first stops, and only after a while the heartbeat stops.

Tetrodotoxin has been studied for many years, but not all the details about it have been revealed yet.

The poisons described above have an extremely harmful effect on animal organisms, so extreme care must be taken when handling them. It is better if professionals do this.