Toxicology & Poisons
What is a poison?
Everything is poison, even the air you breath
Everything is poison in the right dosages. Consuming, drinking, or even breathing too much of something can become toxic for your body. Too much junk food, too much alcohol, even too much Oxygen.
Wait...even water?
Excessive amounts of water can give you what is called water intoxication. This is the over hydration of the body, causing fatal effects such as seizures, and hyponatremia. Too much oxygen saturation in the blood, also called oxygen toxicity, can cause illness, stroke, and even cardiac arrest.
Venom
a poisonous substance secreted by animals such as snakes, spiders, and scorpions and typically injected into prey or aggressors by biting or stinging. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, nausea, chills, headache. sweating, weakness, and fever. There is even a case of venomous spiders attacking an Indian town causing two deaths.
Poisonous Plants
From skin irritation to death, some plants contain toxic substances. Some of the more common toxic plants are poison ivy, poison oak, and some types of common lawn mushrooms.
Common Household Poisons
Carbon monoxide, lead, mercury, mothballs, cleaning substances, and silica gel packets are common household poisons.