| Potash. | Soda. | |
|---|---|---|
| Bichloride of platinum. | A canary-coloured | No precipitate. |
| precipitate | ||
| in solutions | ||
| acidulated with | ||
| hydrochloric acid. | ||
| Strong solution of | Precipitate in granular | No precipitate. |
| tartaric acid. | white crystals. | |
| Colour given to flame. | Rose or lilac tint. | Yellow tint. |
| Neutralised with | Crystallises in long, | Crystallises in |
| nitric acid. | slender, fluted prisms. | rhombic plates. |
In Organic Mixtures.—If the mixture be strongly alkaline, filter and test as above.
Fatal Period.—From three hours to as many years.
Fatal Dose.—About half an ounce of the caustic alkali. The smallest fatal dose recorded of caustic potash is forty grains.
Treatment.—Water freely; drinks containing citric or acetic acid, vinegar, lemon juice, oil, linseed tea, and other demulcent drinks. The stomach tube should be avoided.
AMMONIA
In vapour, in solution, or solid.
Symptoms.—The vapour may cause death by producing inflammation of the larynx and lungs. The symptoms to which it gives rise are a feeling of choking, and a suspension of the power of breathing. Intense heat and pain are felt in the throat, which may remain for some time. When ammonia is swallowed in solution, the symptoms produced are not unlike those the result of the action of soda or potash, only more intense. Dr. Patterson records the history of a case of a poor man who drank about an ounce of the liquid ammonia. When seen, his lips were livid, breathing stridulous, aspect anxious, extremities cold, pulse 100; inside of mouth, tongue, fauces, as far as visible, red, raw, and fiery-looking. He died suddenly, nineteen days after the accident, of laryngeal spasm. Albuminuria occurred in one case.
The post-mortem appearances are those found in most cases of poisoning by corrosives.