What are the symptoms of drinking arsenic?
What are the symptoms of drinking arsenic?
The immediate symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning include vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. These are followed by numbness and tingling of the extremities, muscle cramping and death, in extreme cases.
What happens if you drink water that has arsenic in it?
Arsenic occurs naturally in rocks and soil across Minnesota. Small amounts can dissolve into groundwater that may be used for drinking water. Drinking water with arsenic in it can increase your risk of cancer and other serious health effects.
Can arsenic cause stomach pain?
Acute ingestion of toxic amounts of inorganic arsenic typically causes severe gastrointestinal signs and symptoms (e.g., vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea). These signs and symptoms might lead rapidly to dehydration and shock.
What organs are affected by arsenic?
Arsenic affects a broad range of organs and systems including:
- Skin.
- Nervous system.
- Respiratory system.
- Cardiovascular system.
- Liver, kidney, bladder and prostate.
- Immune system.
- Endocrine system.
- Developmental processes.
What health problems does arsenic cause?
Breathing in high levels of arsenic can cause a sore throat and irritated lungs. Swallowing high levels of arsenic can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness and cramping, skin rashes, and other problems. Exposure to high enough amounts of arsenic can be fatal.
What is arsenic poisoning like?
If arsenic poisoning occurs over a brief period of time, symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and watery diarrhea that contains blood. Long-term exposure can result in thickening of the skin, darker skin, abdominal pain, diarrhea, heart disease, numbness, and cancer.
Can you remove arsenic from water?
How do I remove arsenic from my drinking water? Heating or boiling your water will not remove arsenic. Because some of the water evaporates during the boiling process, the arsenic concentrations can actually increase slightly as the water is boiled. Additionally, chlorine (bleach) disinfection will not remove arsenic.
How common is arsenic in water?
An estimated 2.1 million people throughout the U.S. may be drinking domestic well water high in arsenic(Public domain.) “Although high-arsenic wells can occur in all 48 contiguous states, it is more prevalent in some states than in others,” said Ayotte.
How much arsenic makes you sick?
The lethal dose of arsenic in acute poisoning ranges from 100 mg to 300 mg. The Risk Assessment Information System database states “The acute lethal dose of inorganic arsenic to humans has been estimated to be about 0.6 mg/kg/day”.
What does arsenic poisoning feel like?
When the poisoning becomes acute, symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, vomiting blood, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more convulsions. The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver.
How does arsenic get in water?
Answer: Arsenic enters lakes, rivers and underground water naturally when mineral deposits such as rocks containing arsenic erode and dissolve. It may also enter the groundwater through the discharge of industrial and agricultural waste products.
How do you treat arsenic in water?
Current methods to remove arsenic include precipitation, adding lime or coagulants to water, using membranes to filter it out, or using an ion exchange process. But using a filter for removal is one of the most commonly used methods due to its ease of operation, relatively low cost and high effectiveness.