Metal and Non-metal Poisoning

DR. REHANA
13-10-2020
 Metal
• Metal is a material, that is typically hard,
opaque, shiny and has good electrical and
thermal conductivity. These are other than
Hydrogen and Helium in periodic table.
• e. g: Iron, Lead, Mercury etc
 Non-Metals
• These tend to be highly volatile, have low
elasticity and are good insulators of heat and
electricity. E.g: CO, Cyanide, Methanol,
Organophosphorus compounds,
environmental pollutants etc.
• Often heavy metals are thought to cause
toxicity, but lighter metals may also be toxic in
certain circumstances, such as Beryllium and
Lithium.
• Not all heavy metals are particularly toxic,
some are essential like iron.
• Toxic metals interfere with the action of
essential amino acids in the body, interfering
with metabolic processes resulting in illness.
• Metal toxicity or metal poisoning is the toxic
effect of certain metals in certain forms and
doses on life.
• Some metals are toxic when they
form poisonous soluble compounds. Certain
metals have no biological role, i.e. are not
essential minerals, or are toxic when in a
certain form
 Treatment of Metallic Poisoning
• Metallic poisoning is treated with chelation
therapy. It is a medical procedure that involves
the administration of chelating agents to
remove heavy metals from body.
 Arsenic Poisoning
• It a chemical element. Its atomic number is 23 and
symbol is “As”. It is found in grey form only.
• Arsenic has been considered poisonous for
multicellular life.
• Sources of As poisoning:
• The most common reason for arsenic poisoning is long
term exposure of Arsenic contaminated drinking water.
Recommended levels in water are less than 10-
50µg/lit.
• A pasture near paints and strong solution of lead
arsenide for animal dipping can be the source of
arsenic poisoning.
 Toxicity Symptoms
• Symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain,
encephalopathy and watery diarrhea that contain
blood. Poison is stored in liver, skin and hair.
Arsenic binds to sulfhydryl groups presented in
keratinized tissues and following cessation of
exposure, hair, nails and skin may contain
elevated levels after urine values have returned
to normal.
• Herbivorous are commonly poisoned but swine
and fowls are rare.
• If Arsenic is excreted slowly, the toxicity is higher.
 Treatment
• Specific antidotes, Dimercaprol and
Dimercaptosuccinc acid (DMSA/ Succimer)
are used as chelating agents for arsenic
poisoning.
 Nitrite and Nitrate Poisoning
• Nitrate is converted into nitrite in animal body.
Nitrite poisoning is very common in animals
due to increased use of fertilizers.
• Treatment: Methylene blue is used @ 9mg/kg
(IV).