Household food poisoning is a common phenomenon. Every housewife has very toxic additives on the kitchen shelf. One of these substances is vinegar essence. Despite the alleged safety and environmental friendliness, it is a very dangerous substance. Acetic essence poisoning is one of the leading places in the ranking of food additives poisoning.
The main types and properties of vinegar
Acetic acid is a food preservative that has a complex chemical molecular structure. There are the following varieties:
- Apple cider vinegar essence in a minimal concentration brings only help to the human body. Traditional medicine recommends drinking an empty stomach a solution of a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of clean cool water as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent. Intoxication of the body begins with the use of 100 ml in its pure form of 5% apple vinegar essence. Possible burns of the esophagus, gastric mucosa and damage to internal organs.
- Wine vinegar in small doses is an excellent preventive measure for diseases of the cardiovascular system. Widely used for cooking Japanese cuisine. It has a bright tart aroma. An overdose, hazardous to health, occurs when taken above 30 ml of 5% essence.
- Doctors forbid balsamic vinegar to be consumed even in tiny amounts by people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite its bright taste, poisoning with an overdose occurs most quickly.
- Table vinegar is a 9% solution of acetic acid. This is the most dangerous solution, since it usually has an extremely high concentration of acid (from 15% and above). It should be carefully protected from children and not stored at all in a house where there are mentally unhealthy people. Often people who are prone to this kind of vinegar prefer to pickle table vinegar. The lethal dose of such a solution, provided that the acid concentration is 10-15%, is 100-150 ml.
Why is it used in cooking?
Acetic acid is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor and astringent taste. Mixes to a homogeneous consistency with many solvents. Inadvertent intake of pure essence is difficult due to the sharp smell of this acid and a serious irritating effect on the respiratory tract. Alas, poisoning with vinegar essence is one of the most common causes of domestic mortality.
Acetic essence is widely used in the preparation of dough products (together with baking soda - as a baking powder). Experienced housewives use it when kneading dough for pancakes, the basis for homemade pizza, giving rice tart flavor notes, for soaking cold meats before grilling kebabs.
Possible causes of intoxication
Often a solution of vinegar is drunk by people in a state of extreme intoxication. They are not able to smell a pungent smell and sour taste. It often happens that a drunk person wants to achieve even greater euphoria, and in search of a means he decides to do desperate things. Many uneducated people still believe that vinegar essence can increase the degree of an alcoholic drink. Of course, such an opinion is completely erroneous.
The second reason is the use of vinegar in high dosages due to ignorance. This is characteristic of children and adolescents. For example, apple cider vinegar has a rather pleasant aroma (especially a 5% solution) and kids might think that it is juice.
In some cases, poisoning by vinegar essence pairs in culinary and technological industries is possible. This is a direct violation of safety instructions.
The effect on the body of vinegar
On supermarket shelves the product is stored in a concentration of 5-10%. The lethal dose of vinegar 10% is about 200 ml (this amount varies depending on gender, weight and health). In production and in professional restaurants, essences with a concentration of up to 70% can be used - the dose of such a solution that is dangerous to health is even less - about 20-50 ml
Do not try to use vinegar for medicinal purposes on your own. Even a relatively safe solution of apple cider vinegar essence in small quantities can lead to intoxication in people with chronic diseases of the liver and thyroid gland.
The first symptoms of poisoning with vinegar essence
What you should pay attention to first of all (external manifestations of intoxication):
- the person does not have enough air, he begins to breathe greedily;
- the skin turns pale, and a bright red rim forms around the lips;
- fever, slight chills;
- in some cases - severe nausea, vomiting;
- profuse salivation.
Here are the medical signs of vinegar poisoning:
- blood composition changes: destruction of red blood cells with the release of hemoglobin;
- hepatic and renal failure is rapidly developing;
- extensive burns of the esophagus and gastric mucosa;
- unbearable pain of a burning nature in the patient (occurs when taking large doses of vinegar essence);
- bleeding disorder.
Methods for detecting intoxication
An experienced doctor can easily reach the right verdict in a matter of seconds. Halitosis, characteristic appearance of the victim and complaints will not leave any doubt in the diagnosis. According to the ICD code, poisoning with vinegar essence is marked T54.2.
In some cases, the time to save the victim goes in minutes. There is no time to do blood tests, urine tests and wait for the result. Therefore, it is important to be smart and not to linger. Acute poisoning with vinegar essence often ends in death.
Even an untrained person who is far from medicine will have no difficulty guessing about the cause of the patient’s poor health or excruciating pain. To do this, it will be enough to bend to his face - from the mouth a vinegar smell will clearly be heard.
Three degrees of difficulty intoxication with acetic acid
Medicine distinguishes the following degrees of damage to the body:
- a mild degree is characterized by a low degree of intoxication, superficial burns of the esophagus, slight chills, nausea;
- with an average degree, the stomach is significantly damaged, blood thickening occurs and acute renal failure may develop;
- a severe degree often leads to death due to failure of the liver, gall bladder, other organs of the gastrointestinal tract; serious burns of internal organs are characteristic of this degree; the patient vomits profusely, he loses consciousness, experiences excruciating pain.
Providing first aid to the injured
The algorithm of actions if you suspect poisoning with vinegar essence in a person:
- Call an ambulance on the phone.
- Rinse your mouth with clean, cool water, try to rinse your throat. This should not be done if the patient has agony, and he experiences severe pain.
- You can’t try to “extinguish” an acid reaction using baking soda (a common mistake).
- You can not give any pills before the arrival of doctors, it is forbidden to use any kind of food.
- Perform a gastric lavage procedure at home (if the first-aid provider has the necessary qualifications).
Assistance in case of poisoning with vinegar essence should first of all be guided by the “do no harm” rule. Attempts to give the patient a drink of soda solution, vegetable oil and other means of "folk methods of neutralizing vinegar" can lead to even greater complications. If an ambulance takes a long time to get to the scene, it is best to describe the degree of intoxication by phone and follow the instructions of the doctors.
The main methods of treatment
Treatment for poisoning with vinegar essence is to reduce the toxic effect of acid on internal organs.
First of all, it is a gastric lavage. Then honey. the worker will intravenously administer special antidote substances that can neutralize the destructive effect of the poison.
Acceptance of sodium bicarbonate to restore the acid-base balance is possible only under the supervision of experienced physicians, as it can cause an unforeseen allergic reaction.
Further treatment is aimed at repairing damage after a toxic shock. This is the healing of internal burns, the restoration of damaged organs and systems.
Preventative measures
The main rule of prevention: do not store concentrated solutions of vinegar essence at home! No need to even buy them. In an extreme case, if there was no low concentrated solution on the shelf of the store, dilute the essence yourself with clean water. From this, she will not lose her properties.
Even after this, vinegar cannot be stored in accessible places (especially if there are children or people with mental disabilities in the house who are not aware of their actions).
The bottle should be tightly closed to avoid accidental spillage and gradual evaporation.
The consequences of poisoning with vinegar essence
Each case is individual and depends on the age, gender and initial state of health of the patient. After receiving intoxication of a complex degree, the patient faces a lifelong disability. Even timely timely competent rehabilitation measures are not always able to radically change the situation.
Here are some common effects of poisoning:
- acute renal failure;
- burn of the esophagus and gastric mucosa;
- mechanical asphyxia;
- resection of part of the stomach and intestines.
First aid for poisoning with vinegar essence and timely emergency call can help save the patient's life. Gastric lavage when getting intoxication of the first degree is usually enough. If damage to the tissues of organs has begun, then it will be very difficult to stop the process. Approximately 14% of all recorded cases of poisoning with vinegar essence are fatal.