Gourt Home::Gourt :: Nicotine poisoning
Historically, most cases of nicotine poisoning have been the result of its use as an insecticide; however, such use is less frequent now than previously. Every year many children go to the emergency room after eating cigarettes or cigarette butts. Sixty milligrams of nicotine will kill an adult, which is about the amount of nicotine in three or four cigarettes or half a cigar, if all nicotine were absorbed. However, this figure is higher in regular smokers, although not drastically so. Consuming only one cigarette's worth of nicotine is enough to make a toddler severely ill. In some cases children have become poisoned by topical medicinal creams which contain nicotine.
Symptoms
- vomiting and nausea
- headaches
- difficulty breathing
- stomach pains/cramps
- seizures
- weakness
- increased drooling
Physical Process
These symptoms can be traced back to excessive stimulation of cholinergic neurons. People poisoned by organophosphate insecticides experience the exact same symptoms. With organophosphates, acetylcholine builds up at synapses and overstimulates the neurons. Because nicotine is so similar to acetylcholine, and binds to cholinergic receptors, nicotine in excess produces the same overstimulation and toxicity. The more nicotine binding to the nicotinic cholinergic receptors, the greater the overstimulation of the cholinergic receptors and the greater the toxicity.
Diagnosing
Increased nicotine or cotinine (the nicotine metabolite) is detected in urine or blood, or increased serum nicotine levels occur.
External links
toxicology
"Nicotine poisoning"