POISONING BY NITRO-BENZOL.
Composition. Source. Uses. Characters. Toxic qualities. Convulsions: paralysis: cyanosis; weak pulse; bitter almond odor; dark red urine; sopor, giddiness; reduced size of red blood globules; congested brain, stomach, intestines. Treatment: emesis, purgation, stimulants, electricity, derivatives, bleeding, normal salt solution.
Nitro-benzol (Nitro-benzine, C6H5NO2) is a coal tar product, formed in large quantities in the manufacture of aniline dyes and extensively used as a flavoring agent for soaps, sweet meats, etc. It is formed by the addition of strong nitric acid to benzine, and appears as a yellow fluid with an odor resembling, yet somewhat different from, that of prussic acid or oil of bitter almonds. It may prove deadly to man or dog in a dose of fifteen drops, though most commonly it enters the system by inhalation. In animals the prominent symptoms are convulsions and paralysis, supervening on a period of weak circulation and pulse, and blueness of the visible mucous membranes. The characteristic odor resembling the oil of bitter almonds exhales from the lungs and skin. In man there are dilatation of the pupils, blueness of the lips and nails, pallor of the face, weak pulse, slow breathing (often in the end Cheyne-Stokes respiration), a dark maroon or port wine color of the urine, and amblyopia. In the chronic cases the skin is yellowish, and there are weariness, a dragging walk, headache, morning anorexia, drowsiness, giddiness, numbness of the hands or other parts and emaciation. The blood is chocolate color with red globules reduced in size, in number and in hæmoglobin, but containing an excess of carbon dioxide. The brain is often congested and the gastro-intestinal mucosa like the skin may be yellow (from alleged formation of picric acid). In chronic cases disseminated sclerosis may be seen.
In treatment emesis, purgation, stimulants (ammonia, camphor), galvanism, sinapisms to the chest, and phlebotomy, with injection of normal salt solution, may be resorted to, as in aniline poisoning.