aka Toxicology Conundrum 027
As you review a patient you notice an unusual scent about his person…
Welcome to the ‘Sniff a Poison’ Challenge!
How this works
Below is a list of odo(u)rs. For each different odour try to identify the poison(s) or toxin(s) that can give rise to it – then click on the odour (in blue) to show/hide the answer. If there are multiple answers, the number of answers listed is shown in brackets.
Start sniffing!
- — ammonia (its good to get off to an easy start…)
- — cyanide (40% of people are genetically incapable of smelling this)
- — marijuana
— opium - — phenol
— creosote - — nitriles
— isopropyl alcohol
— ketoacidosis
— lacquer
— ethanol
— isopropanol
— chloroform
— trichloroethane
— paraldehyde
— chloral hydrate
— methylbromide
— nitrites (amyl, butyl) - — phosphorus
— tellurium
— inorganic arsenicals and arsine gas
— organophosphates
— selenium
— thallium
— dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) - — phosgene
- — methylsalicylate (Oil of Wintergreen)
— menthol - — napthalene
— camphor
— p-dichlorobenzene - — chloral hydrate
- — o-chlorobenzylidene malonitrile (CS or tear gas)
- — pine oil
- — Hydrogen sulfide
(olfactory fatigue occurs after about 15 minutes at the potentially toxic level of 50 ppm. This happens even faster at higher concentrations – so the victim is at least spared the stench of rotten eggs…)
— carbon disulfide
— mercaptans
— disulfiram
— N-acetylcysteine (antidote) - — nicotine!
- — acetic acid
— hydrofluoric acid - — turpentine (urinary metabolites)
The bonus question:
A bite by which Australian snake could seriously impair your performance on the ‘Sniff a Poison’ challenge?
Potentially any of them!
However, at least one species can specifically impair the victim’s sense of smell: the Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus, one of Australia’s most striking and beautiful snakes.
Red-bellied Black Snake (photo by webboydotnet)
Victims may experience permanent alterations in their olfactory sense. Abnormalities include anosmia (loss of smell), cacosmia (the sensation of a foul smell – not good), dysosmia (a distorted perception of smell) and even phantosmia (the sensation of smell without stimulus).
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References
- Flomenbaum N, et al (2006). Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies (8th edition). McGraw-Hill Professional.
- Sutherland SK, Tibballs J (2001). Australian animal toxins: the creatures, their toxins and care of the poisoned patient (2nd edition). Oxford University Press.
PDF 
About Chris Nickson
nice post..this stuff is asked a lot in competitive exams in India..