Toxicological poisoning - Essay Example

Toxicological poisoning There are several chemicals found in the home and in this paper, we shall discuss three common chemicals and their potentialfor toxicological poisoning. Three common chemicals found in the home are carbon monoxide, dishwashing liquids and laundry detergents. Carbon monoxide is a chemical compound that is composed of carbon and oxygen. It is a poisonous gas that is usually emitted in the household through the cooking process that takes place in the kitchen or other burning process that takes place in the house.

The potential of carbon monoxide for toxicological poisoning is manifested when it is inhaled by members of the household. The harmful effect caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide is that these toxic chemical compounds combines with the hemoglobin in the blood, thus preventing the body from absorbing oxygen and the adverse result is asphyxiation. The treatment of asphyxiation is to make use of artificial respiration to prevent the patient from dying (Klaasen, 2001). Dishwashing liquids are usually in the kitchen and are used for washing utensils.

These dishwashing liquids are actually toxic in nature and are poisonous when mistakenly swallowed. In order to prevent people from mistakenly swallowing these dishwashing liquids, they should be put in their right containers. The utensils that are washed with these dishwashing liquids should also be properly rinsed with water in order to remove any sign of the dishwashing liquids from them. These precautions would go a long way in reducing the harmful effects caused by swallowing these dishwashing liquids.

Note that people that mistakenly swallow these dishwashing liquids usually complain of stomach cramps and other stomach related illnesses. In order to reduce the effect of swallowing these dishwashing liquids, one should use purgatives (Klaasen, 2001). Laundry detergents as the name implies are chemical substances that are used for laundry purposes. These laundry detergents have toxicological potentials. Laundry detergents should be kept away from the reach of children as they are the major group of people that are prone to swallowing these harmful substances.

The effects of taking in detergents are also stomach related illnesses and the treatment is to use laxative that would help evacuate these harmful toxic laundry detergents from the bowels (Klaasen, 2001). Reference Klaasen, C.D. (2001). Casarett and Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill