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Chapter 17: Natural Substances
Poisons
A poison is any substance that produces disease
conditions, tissue injury, or otherwise interrupts
natural life processes when in contact with or absorbed
by the body. Most poisons, taken in sufficient
quantities, are lethal. Sources of poison include
minerals, plants (zootoxins), or animals
(phytotoxins). Poisons may take the form of a solid,
liquid, or gas. Types of poisons are classified according
to their effects: corrosives, irritants, or narcotics.
Corrosives include strong acids or alkalies
that cause local tissue destruction, externally or internally;
that is, they ‘burn’ the skin or the lining of
the stomach. Vomiting occurs immediately, and the
vomitus is intermixed with blood. Diluted corrosive
poisons commonly act as irritants. (Common
corrosive poisons include hydrochloric acid, carbolic
acid, bichloride of mercury, and ammonia.)
Irritants (such as arsenic and mercury) act
directly on the mucous membrane, causing gastrointestinal
irritation or inflammation accompanied
by pain and vomiting; diluted corrosive poisons also
have these effects. Irritants include cumulative poisons,
those substances that can be absorbed gradually
without apparent harm until they suddenly take
effect.
Narcotic poisons act upon the central nervous
system or upon important organs such as the
heart, liver, lungs, or kidneys until they affect the
respiratory and circulatory systems. These poisons
can cause coma, convulsions, or delirium. Narcotic
poisons include alcohol, belladonna, and cyanide.
Also included in this category is 1 of the most dangerous
poisons known, botulin toxin, a potent bacterial
toxin that causes acute food poisoning (Botulism).
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Blood poisoning, also bacterial in nature, is
a condition that occurs when virulent microorganisms
invade the bloodstream through a wound or
an infection. Symptoms include chills, fever, prostration,
and often infections or secondary abscesses
in various organs. Most poison gases also affect the
bloodstream. Because these gases restrict the body’s
ability to absorb oxygen, they are often considered
in a separate category called asphyxiants, to which
group ordinary carbon monoxide belongs. Gas
poisons, however, may also be corrosives or irritants.
Regarding the ingestion of poisonous plants,
usually more than 2 ounces of the plant must be
ingested by an adult before effects are noticeable,
though some are toxic in small amounts.
Treatments: in most cases dilution is advisable
by ingesting large quantities of water or milk.
In other cases, an emetic is necessary, a substance
that induces vomiting and rids the stomach of the
poison, though they should not be used on a character
who has ingested corrosive poison. An antidote,
unlike an emetic, chemically counteracts the
effects of the poison, although it may indirectly result
in vomiting. An antidote may work against a
poison by neutralizing it, rendering it insoluble, absorbing
it, or isolating it. Charcoal, mistletoe, and
olive oil are often used as an antidote.
Descriptive Terms: Each poison listed below
is categorized in several ways. The format is as
follows:
These terms are also described in the skill
Toxicology in Chapter 8: Skills. Find refers to the
likelihood of finding the poison in an average setting
(common, uncommon, rare, very rare). Identify
refers to the chance of being able to identify the
poison once it has been extracted and prepared, such
as detecting whether or not a tankard of beer handed
to a character by an evil kobold is poisoned or not
(obvious, ordinary, obscure). Extract refers to the
difficulty of extracting the poison from its natural
setting, such as removing venom from a spider’s sac
(simple, moderate, difficult, impossible). Finally,
Prepare refers to how hard it is to prepare the extracted
poison for use (easy, average, hard).