poison, any agent that may produce chemically an injurious or deadly effect when introduced into the body in sufficient quantity. Some poisons can be deadly in minute quantities, others only if relatively large amounts are involved. Factors of importance in determining the severity of a poison include the nature of the poison itself, the concentration and amount, the route of administration, the length of exposure, and the age, size, and physical health of the individual. If poisoning is suspected a physician or poison control center should be called immediately. The remainder of the poison and its container should be saved; the label may list ingredients, first aid measures, or antidotes. For most ingested poisons emptying the stomach is the most important treatment; vomiting is best accomplished in the conscious individual by administering syrup of ipecac with large quantities of water. The major exceptions to this treatment are in cases of ingestion of corrosives, such as lye, and certain hydrocarbons, such as kerosene. In corrosive ingestions a small amount of milk may be given, but vomiting should not be induced since the damage that may have already been sustained by the mucous membranes of the esophagus and stomach may advance to perforation; the patient should be seen by a physician as soon as possible. Hydrocarbons are extremely volatile, and the dangers of their being aspirated into the lungs when vomiting is induced are greater than their toxicity if absorbed into the body. In gas or vapor poisoning the patient should be carried to a nonpolluted atmosphere; artificial respiration artificial respiration, any measure that causes air to flow in and out of a person's lungs when natural breathing is inadequate or ceases, as in respiratory paralysis, drowning, electric shock, choking, gas or smoke inhalation, or poisoning.
..... Click the link for more information. should be employed if necessary. If any poison has been absorbed through the skin, all contaminated garments should be removed immediately and the skin washed with soap and water. Poisoning is a significant cause of accidental death in children and is best treated by prevention; potential poisons in the home should be stored in locked cabinets. In chemistry, poison refers to a substance that inhibits or slows a chemical reaction. See separate articles on botulism botulism (bŏch`əlĭz'əm), acute poisoning resulting from ingestion of food containing toxins produced by the bacillus
..... Click the link for more information. ; carbon monoxide carbon monoxide, chemical compound, CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, extremely poisonous gas that is less dense than air under ordinary conditions. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide;
..... Click the link for more information. ; food poisoning food poisoning, acute illness following the eating of foods contaminated by bacteria, bacterial toxins, natural poisons, or harmful chemical substances. It was once customary to classify all such illnesses as "ptomaine poisoning," but it was later discovered that
..... Click the link for more information. ; lead poisoning lead poisoning or plumbism (plŭm`bĭz'əm)
..... Click the link for more information. ; mercury poisoning mercury poisoning, tissue damage resulting from exposure to more than trace amounts of the element mercury or its compounds. Elemental mercury (the silver liquid familiar from thermometers) is the most common occupational source.
..... Click the link for more information. ; poison gas poison gas, any of various gases sometimes used in warfare or riot control because of their poisonous or corrosive nature. These gases may be roughly grouped according to the portal of entry into the body and their physiological effects.
..... Click the link for more information. ; poison ivy poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, woody vines and trailing or erect shrubs of the family Anacardiaceae ( sumac family), native to North America.
..... Click the link for more information. ; snakebite snakebite, wound inflicted by the teeth of a snake. The bite of a nonvenomous snake is rarely serious. Venomous snakes have fangs, hollow teeth through which poison is injected into a victim.
..... Click the link for more information. ; toxin toxin, poison produced by living organisms. Toxins are classified as either exotoxins or endotoxins. Exotoxins are a diverse group of soluble proteins released into the surrounding tissue by living bacterial cells.
..... Click the link for more information. .

poison

Any substance (natural or synthetic) that, at a certain dosage, damages living tissues and injures or kills. Poisons spontaneously produced by living organisms are often called toxins, venoms if produced by animals. Poisons may be ingested, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin. They do not always have an all-or-none effect; degrees of poisoning may occur, and at a given dose some substances are far more toxic than others (e.g., a pinch of potassium cyanide can kill, whereas a single dose of ordinary table salt must be massive to kill). Poisoning may be acute (a single dose does significant damage) or chronic (repeated or continuous doses produce an eventual effect, as with chemical carcinogens). The effects produced by poisons may be local (hives, blisters, inflammation) or systemic (hemorrhage, convulsions, vomiting, diarrhea, clouding of the senses, paralysis, respiratory or cardiac arrest). Agricultural pesticides are often poisonous to humans. Some industrial chemicals can be very toxic or carcinogenic. Most therapeutic drugs and health-care products can be poisons if taken inappropriately or in excess. Most forms of radiation can be toxic (see radiation injury). See also antidote; arsenic poisoning; fish poisoning; food poisoning; lead poisoning; medicinal poisoning; mercury poisoning; mushroom poisoning.

Poison

unicorn

its horn used to test liquids for poison. [Medieval Legend: EB (1963) XXII, 702]

Poison (redirected from slender poison)

poison

Poison
(redirected from slender poison)