Intoxication
- Features of exogenous intoxication
- Endogenous intoxication
- Intoxication of the liver
- Treatment approaches
Intoxication is a pathological change in the body when it interacts with a poison of any nature. As a result of this kind of contact, physiological processes fail, organs undergo morphological changes, namely, in the structure of their cells and tissues, which are irreversible in some cases. All this leads to appearing specific symptoms.
There are exogenous and endogenous intoxications. When exointoxication, poisonous substances enter body from the environment. Endogenous is an intoxication stimulated by toxins formed in the body.
There are also acute and chronic processes. Acute intoxication is a rapidly developing body reaction (within minutes, hours, days) to high levels of toxic substances. In case of acute alcohol intoxication, the term "inebriation" is used. The chronic one means long (weeks, months) acting toxins usually stored. The toxic substances are not enough to cause a vivid symptomatology, it appears gradually. At the same time, protective systems and eliminative organs can not cope with the neutralization, and the process can progress up to irreversible organ changes.
Features of exogenous intoxication
Exogenous intoxication is often called poisoning.
Key reasons are:
- food poisoning: food products (low-quality, overdue and / or infected with bacteria and viruses), as well as poisonous mushrooms;
- household: alcohol in large doses and its surrogates (methyl alcohol, ethylene glycol), acids and alkalis (citric acid, vinegar, means for cleaning pipes), household chemicals and cosmetics;
- medicamentous: drugs and medications (in excess of dosages);
- biological: plant toxins, as well as poisons produced by animals, reptiles (snakes), insects;
- production and transport: in case of violating technologies connected with emission of harmful substances into the environment, man-caused disasters, explosions of tanks carrying volatile acids (sulfuric, nitric-hydrous);
- radiation (in case of accidents at nuclear power plants, having food contaminated with radionuclides).
Chemicals are applied in almost any production, as well as in everyday life. Applying most of the substances is safe when observing rules of protection and preventing them from entering the body. However, when inhaling, swallowing, touching or damaging tissues (with wounds), the body gets enough toxins to develop intoxication.
The most common chemicals are:
- toxic gases (carbon monoxide);
- salts of heavy metals (lead, mercury);
- household detergents;
- insecticides for pest control;
- low-quality cosmetics;
- agricultural pesticides and nitrates.
Fertilizers and chemical protection products of plants are both dangerous in case of ingestion intake, and able to accumulate in plants. And if intaken, they can cause even severe intoxication.
Nutritional intoxication
Food intoxication - what is it? This term means poisoning as a result of having food with toxic substances, as well as microorganisms that can cause an infectious disease (for example, salmonella). The probability of the pathology increases with chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and weakening immunity.
Most often acute poisoning with dairy and meat products occurs when the production technology is not complied with, insufficient heat treatment, as well as missing storage life and conditions.
Clinical manifestations:
- chills, total weakness, severe deterioration of health level;
- increasing temperature (up to 39-40 ° C);
- nausea, vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- painful abdomen (more often - pronounced, lancinating).
Intoxication is one of the manifestations of the disease in this case. If this changes occur, doctor`s consultation is needed as soon as possible. It is also important to save food that probably caused poisoning. Released toxins and microbes in the laboratory accelerates the diagnosis and ensures selection of adequate and timely therapy.
Alcohol intoxication
Taking large doses of alcohol leads to brain, mental disorders and autonomic (ensuring performing internal organs) dysfunction. The intoxication degree depends not only on the amount of alcohol taken, but also on the tome of the previous drinking and biological features of performing enzyme systems neutralizing alcohol.
Doctors mark out 3 stages of alcohol intoxication:
- The first (light) - the amount of alcohol in the blood is less than 1.5 ‰ (ppm). There are psychic changes (talkative, emotional, weakened attention, impatience), bad moving coordination, red face, increased pulse, respiration and salivation in this case;
- medium, with blood ethanol concentration from 1.5 to 2.5 ‰, featuring appearing neurological symptoms on the background of increased mental changes: slowing thinking, confusion, time and spacial disorientation, possible aggressiveness and rudeness, as well as increasing walking weakness, speech disorders, pallor, nausea and vomiting;
- severe, with a blood alcohol content of 2.5 to 4 ‰, is life-threatening with highly disordered internal organ function: patients lose consciousness, reaction to irritants, pupils narrow, and if the level is exceeded 4 ‰, a fatal breathing stop is probable.
However, patients featuring chronic intoxication (prolonged alcoholism), can keep in touch even if there are higher ethanol concentrations in their blood.
Endogenous intoxication
With all pathological processes leading to destroying tissues, increased substance disintegration (catabolism) and sudden body's cleansing system dysfunction, there is a general endogenous intoxication. More often it is chronic, but if any organ fails (for example, renal), acute pathology develops.
Main reasons:
- excessive developing toxins as a result of severe inflammation (peritonitis (inflamed peritoneum), acute pancreatitis, burn disease, long limb compression syndrome (eg in case of an accident), severe pneumonia);
- absorption of toxins from a limited infectious focus or decaying tissue site (intestinal obstruction, purulent processes (phlegmon and abscesses));
- toxins entering the blood from tissues, in which blood circulation was lastly disordered (shock, as well as rapid blood stream recovery in case of extensive myocardial infarction);
- disodered purifying systems (renal and hepatic insufficiency);
- malignant neoplasms, when toxic products of tumor cell metabolism are absorbed into the blood, as well as when tissue damaged by the tumor is destroyed;
- chronic long-term infections, when large volumes of tissues are gradually affected, a large number of toxins forms weakening body, which can not get rid of them (tuberculosis, brucellosis).
Researchers have also recently proven existing endogenous intoxication in skin diseases: psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, toxidermia.
Despite the large number of causes of endogenous intoxication, clinical manifestations are similar in different pathologies. Therefore, doctors separately mark out intoxication syndrome.
Symptoms:
- gradually increasing total weakness, depression, malaise, worsening working capacity;
- aching, pressing headaches;
- painful muscles;
- nausea, frequent urge to vomit and vomiting;
- increased heart rate;
- dryness of mucous membranes, pale skin;
- weight change (decrease);
- periodiclly increasing body temperature, which is challenging enough to treat.
Features of intoxication in tuberculosis
Tuberculosis refers to chronically occurring infections, often little manifested and revealing no signs pointing clearly to this disease. The intoxication syndrome may precede appearing symptoms associated with the affected organs (eg, coughing, shortness of breath, hemoptysis with pulmonary localization, changing urine tests with kidney damage).
Against the background of the above general symptoms of intoxication in tuberculosis, peripheral lymph nodes can increase, as well as lymphadenitis (node inflammation) or periadenitis, when the surrounding soft tissues join the process.
Children often have bronchitis (with wet cough and sputum), and babies are likely to have abdominal pain, frequent vomiting, and increasing liver and spleen.
Liver intoxication
The intoxication of the liver can arise as a result of poisoning with chemical poisonous substances, alcohol, narcotic and medicinal preparations, as well as with endogenous intoxication in oncological, infectious diseases, diabetes mellitus. In this case, the key cause is disordered enzyme system and toxin decontamination.
Hepatic intoxication can be both acute and chronic. Acute occurs in the first hours and days after the toxic substances enter the body (for example, poison of pallid grebe), chronic one develops with endogenous intoxications lasting more than 6 months.
Possible complications:
- cirrhosis of the liver;
- Hepatitis;
- liver failure.
This pathology not only dramatically worsens the patient's health, but can lead to death without proper treatment provided.
Approaches to treatment
The therapy has two targets: release from toxic substance or treat underlying disease (with endogenous intoxication) and detoxification therapy.
In case of acute poisoning, it is necessary to pump the stomach, induce vomiting, and then take sorbents. Such drugs as "Filtrum" remove harmful substances from the body. The only sorbent featuring antiviral activity is rotavirus infections.
Ask for medical help as soon as possible. Only a timely diagnosis and quality treatment can save patient`s life.
Important: read the instructions or consult your doctor before application.
