Arsenic poisoning

Arsenic poisoning
arsenic toxicity, arsenic overdose
Areas of the world with high naturally occurring arsenic levels in the groundwater.
Specialty	toxicology
Symptoms	acute: vomiting, abdominal pain, watery diarrhea chronic: thickened skin, darker skin, cancer
Causes	arsenic
Diagnostic method	urine, blood, or hair testing
Prevention	drinking water without arsenic
Treatment	dimercaptosuccinic acid, dimercaptopropane sulfonate
Frequency	>200 million
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Arsenic poisoning is a medical condition that occurs due to elevated levels of arsenic in the body. If exposure 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.

The most common reason for long-term exposure is contaminated drinking water.Groundwater most often becomes contaminated naturally; however, contamination may also occur from mining or agriculture. Recommended levels in water are less than 10–50 ug/l (10–50 parts per billion). Other routes of exposure include toxic waste sites and traditional medicines. Most cases of poisoning are accidental. Arsenic acts via changing the functioning of around 200 enzymes. Diagnosis is by testing the urine, blood, or hair.

Prevention is by using water that does not contain high levels of arsenic. This may be achieved by the use of special filters or using rainwater. There is not good evidence to support specific treatments for long-term poisoning. For acute poisonings treating dehydration is important.Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) or dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS) may be used while dimercaprol (BAL) is not recommended.Hemodialysis may also be used.