A very simple process for detecting corrosive sublimate is to put a drop of the suspected solution on a sovereign and touch the gold through the solution with a key, when metallic mercury will be deposited on the gold.
XXIV.—LEAD AND ITS PREPARATIONS
Acetate of Lead (Sugar of Lead).—A glistening white powder or crystalline mass. Soluble in water, with a sweetish taste. It is practically the only lead salt which gives rise to acute symptoms, and only when taken in large doses.
Symptoms.—Metallic taste, dryness in throat, intense thirst, vomiting, colicky pains, cramps, cold sweat, constipation and scanty urine, severe headache, convulsions.
Chronic lead-poisoning is liable to occur in those who handle lead in any form—white-lead workers, paint manufacturers, plumbers, pottery workers, etc.
In chronic lead-poisoning the most prominent symptoms are a blue line on the gums, anæmia, emaciation, pallor, quick pulse, persistent constipation, colic, cramps in limbs, and paralysis of the extensor muscles, causing 'dropped hand.' May get saturnine encephalopathies, of which intense headache, optic neuritis, and epileptiform convulsions, are the most common. Albumin in urine, tendency to gout, and in women to abortion.
Post-Mortem Appearances.—Inflamed mucous membrane of stomach and intestines, with layers of white or whitish-yellow mucus, impregnated with the salt of lead.
Treatment.—Sulphate of sodium or magnesium, or a mixture of dilute sulphuric acid, spirits of chloroform, and peppermint-water. Milk, or milk and eggs. As a prophylactic among workers in lead, a drink containing sulphuric acid flavoured with treacle should be given. Lavatory accommodation should be provided, and scrupulous cleanliness should also be enjoined in the workshops. The dry grinding of lead salts should be prohibited. The ionization method of Sir Thomas Oliver is most useful both as regards cure and also prevention of chronic poisoning by lead.
Fatal Dose and Fatal Period.—Uncertain.