Chemicals provoke reactions on living organisms. The discipline that studies this type of phenomenon is known as toxicology. Within this general area, there is a specific section, toxicodynamics. It consists of studying what injuries are produced after the contact of a toxic substance with any tissue or organ of the body.
General stages in any toxic phenomenon
When the presence of a substance such as lead or mercury is detected in the body, it is because the individual has been exposed to that substance before. In a second stage, the toxic product is introduced into the body, either by direct ingestion, skin contact or inhalation. After entering the body, the poison is absorbed into the bloodstream.
Later, it is distributed in the different organs and tissues. After its storage and metabolism in the body, the poison is excreted, that is, it is eliminated from the body.
Study the effects of toxins
Not all toxins act in the same way. Silica or pesticides affect the lungs, but in a cumulative way. On the other hand, certain solvents are not retained by the body and for this reason their toxicity is not cumulative.
Certain substances have corrosive effects on tissues, as occurs with some acids. Sometimes exposure to a poison causes some irritation (for example, hydrochloric acid or phosgene). In some cases, the effect can be anesthetic or narcotic, as occurs after inhaling certain gases.
Lead poisoning
Lead is a very common metal in mining or recycling materials. This metal is potentially harmful to health, especially to the lungs, intestines and kidneys.
In most cases of toxicity of this metal, patients present some of the following symptoms: abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, anemia or headache. The diagnosis caused by lead is complex, since its symptoms can be confused with other pathologies.
Obviously, treating these symptoms requires that the patient stay away from the source of lead. At the same time, to eliminate lead traces in the body, the most common treatment is intravenous chelation therapy.
A chelating agent is an antagonist substance that has the function of eliminating the remains of a metal and in the case of poisoning caused by lead, the chelating agent can be penicillin or a drug that incorporates calcium.
Photo: Fotolia - sodawhiskey
