First aid for poisoning with mineral fertilizers. Help with mineral fertilizer poisoning

Every year more and more mineral fertilizers are used in agriculture. And little is said about the prevention of possible poisoning by them.

Among mineral fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium substances are more often used. Of the most famous nitrogen, ammonia, sodium, potassium and calcium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, ammonia water.

Phosphate fertilizers include superphosphate, phosphate rock, ammonium phosphates and others. From the potash group, potassium chloride, sylvinite, carnallite are used.

When using these fertilizers, the main harm to the human body is the dust they form. Its danger depends on the chemical composition of the fertilizer. Liquid mineral fertilizers (ammonia water, etc.) emit harmful gas - ammonia.

The toxic effect of dust is determined by the content of salts of hydrofluoric, phosphoric, nitric and nitrous acids in it.

Phosphorus fertilizer dust can cause diseases of the upper respiratory tract in the form of catarrhal inflammations of the nasal mucosa, larynx and lungs (bronchitis).

With frequent and prolonged exposure to a dusty atmosphere, chronic poisoning of the body is possible, mainly from exposure to fluorine. This can manifest itself in damage to the joints and teeth (osteosclerosis), respiratory organs, nervous and cardiovascular systems, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys.

Therefore, persons working with mineral fertilizers must observe certain precautions. Fertilizers must be kept in such bags and containers so that there is no dust formation.

In addition, it is necessary to protect the respiratory tract from dust, use anti-dust respirators.

Since dust has an effect on the skin and mucous membranes, it is necessary to use overalls, gloves and goggles. It is also useful to use protective ointments or just an indifferent cream, petroleum jelly, lanolin.

In the absence of a special respirator to protect the respiratory organs and eyes from dust, you can make a mask yourself from 12 layers of gauze. This mask is sewn in such a size that it covers the entire face. A celluloid plate or glass is inserted from the hole for the eyes.

A snug fit of the mask to the forehead is achieved with a 2 cm wide elastic band, which is sewn to the corners of the mask above the temples. Two strips of gauze are attached to the lower corners of the mask, which are tied around the neck.

In the presence of protective dust glasses, the mask is made in such a size that it covers only the chin, mouth and nose. Put it on like a surgeon during an operation. A gauze bandage can also be made from two layers, but then a layer of cotton wool 2-3 centimeters thick is laid between them.

Do not smoke while working in dusty areas. It is necessary to drink and eat after thoroughly rinsing the mouth so as not to swallow dust into the stomach. After work, take off your overalls and wash well in the shower. Food should be saturated with vitamins (milk, fruits, vegetables).

Everyone who has contact with dust must undergo a medical examination at least once every six months with a mandatory blood test, x-rays of the lungs and skeletal system.

Compliance with these rules and precautions will save a person from possible poisoning and will help maintain health.

Material prepared by: Yuri Zelikovich, teacher of the Department of Geoecology and Nature Management

The use of ammonia for plants is based on its high nitrogen content (82%) and the complete absence of ballast substances. In the plant environment, nitrogen can be present in ammonia NH3, amide NH2+, ammonium NH4+, nitrite NO2- and nitrate NO3- chemical forms. In the natural biocycle, the basis of nitrogen nutrition of plants is nitrates, on the left in Fig. More clearly, the part of the nitrogen cycle that is important in this case is given on the right.

Note: ammonia is an aqueous solution of ammonia, or aqueous ammonia. It is often referred to as ammonia or ammonia. To avoid confusion, remember that the chemical ammonia is ammonium nitrate NH4Cl. The use of ammonium nitrate in large-scale agricultural technology is very limited, and it is not used in private farms.

Application features

Nitrogen for plants is about the same as bread for us. Plants greedily, in excess, absorb nitrates and, partially, so to speak, without much appetite - ammonia. This is the first important for not very experienced growers, the moment: top dressing with ammonia will not cause the accumulation of nitrogen compounds in plants, because. they do not have ammonia depots. Simply - Plants cannot be overfed with ammonia.

The second important point is already of general importance - ammonia is an obligatory intermediate product of the natural nitrogen cycle, and it partially passes into the ammonium form simply in the air in the presence of moisture vapor, without the participation of degrading microorganisms. Therefore, the use of ammonia in the garden may be more effective than limitedly available organic fertilizers. for the formation of nitrates from them, an active soil biocenosis is necessary.

On a small intensively used and insufficiently maintained area, e.g. in the country, the community of soil microorganisms, as a rule, is weakened. Soil can be reclaimed in a variety of ways, e.g. humus, but this will take several years and may require some costs. Top dressing with ammonia will allow, in general, without risking due to the intensification of the culture with chemistry, to get an outbreak of pest reproduction, to survive the recovery period, receiving sufficient yields during it.

Note: aqueous ammonia and ammonium in the form of ions (pure, “metallic” ammonium does not exist) are alkalis of medium strength. Therefore, top dressing with ammonia, together with the application of organic fertilizers, makes it possible to avoid acidification of the soil, and its liming should be carried out only when an acidic reaction appears.

Not only fertilizer

Ammonia is known to be volatile, corrosive, unbearably smelly and toxic. As a result, fertilizing with ammonia is also a pest control measure. Treatment with ammonia is also possible as a separate specific procedure against certain harmful species, see below, but first it is worth mentioning the use of ammonia in the garden from fruit damage by ants and wasps.

To protect the harvest of fruit and berry crops, the smell of ammonia is used; ants and wasps cannot stand it in concentrations that are completely insensitive to us. To fix ammonia on the treated surfaces, the fatty acids that are part of the soap are used. So that generally useful, but in this case, unwanted gourmets do not gnaw on the crop, the fruits are sprayed with a trace solution. composition:

On a grater, rub 100-200 g of soap without fragrances, household or children's. The best will be 72% laundry soap.
Soap crumbs are dissolved in a liter of hot distilled water.
The soapy solution is poured in a thin stream with stirring into a bucket of tap water until gray flakes stop falling out and iridescent bubbles appear.
The rest of the soapy solution is poured into the water without any precautions.
A pharmaceutical vial (50 ml) of a 25% solution of ammonia is poured into a bucket of soapy solution. At a different concentration, the dose acc. correct.
Ready working solution is used immediately.

The advantage of ammonia as a biocide against eating is that it does not penetrate into plant tissues at all. However, the fruits processed in this way must be washed before use; Buyers should be warned about this. However, no sane person would eat unwashed purchased fruits.

Precautionary measures

Ammonia is a strong poison for humans. It enters the body through the respiratory tract, through the mucous membranes and directly through the skin. Ammonia poisoning due to excess of traffic rules begins suddenly and requires serious treatment. That is, when working with ammonia, you need to use a full set of PPE: latex gloves, a plastic apron, a respirator, glasses, a plastic cap on your head. If signs of poisoning appear (nausea, vomiting, burning), you need to drink warm milk and call a doctor immediately.

Ammonia vapors also damage decorative coatings; they can cause cracking and chipping of wire insulation. Therefore, the use of ammonia for indoor plants should be done on an open balcony or veranda. During work, you need to stand upwind from the table (rack) with the plants being processed.

Note: ammonia can be used in a greenhouse only in the warm season, by opening the frames or raising the canopy for ventilation.

Ammonia as a fertilizer

Ammonia as a fertilizer is applied by spraying or watering with a working solution. Resp. Dosages also vary.

1 st. l. 25% solution per 1 liter of water - the maximum dose for emergency irrigation when signs of nitrogen starvation appear;
3 art. l. the same solution per 10 liters of water - for irrigation under the roots of fruits and vegetables;
25 ml per 10 liters of water - for watering flower crops and bulbous vegetables;
50 ml per 10 liters of water - for spraying garden crops;
1 tsp per 1 liter of water - for seedlings and foliar feeding of flowers.

How to spray and water

Due to the volatility of ammonia, it is better to spray plants with ammonia from a watering can that gives streams with visible splashes (on the left in the figure) according to the general rules: at sunset after watering or, in cloudy weather, in the morning immediately after dawn. To treat fruits or large areas, the sprayer must be switched from mist to spray. If you use a "cool" watering can that gives drizzle (on the right in the figure), then most of the active substance will be lost already in the air.

Correct and incorrect spraying of plants with ammonia

Watering seedlings and indoor flowers should be done from a watering can without a sprinkler, see next. rice. below. It is watered with a weak stream from a low height just under the roots, preventing the solution from getting on the green parts of the plants. To prevent chemical burns, it is useful to spray the plants with a foggy stream of clean water after watering with ammonia.

Who will benefit

Plants differ significantly in their ability to assimilate ammonia nitrogen, regardless of their total need for it. Any seedlings “eat” ammonia well, and from adult plants - onions, garlic, cucumbers, tomatoes, vegetable (sweet) peppers. Fertilizing flowers with ammonia is effective for any bulbs, dahlias, clematis, nasturtiums, peonies, roses, garden violets (pansies), zinnias. Strawberries stand apart, ammonia is needed more for it as a protective agent against ants and slugs; Ammonia nitrogen is poorly absorbed by strawberries.

Seedling

The container for seedlings is washed with a solution of ammonia from ants and wasps to prevent diseases and fungi. Watered with ammonia solution No. 5 (see above) once, 2 weeks after picking or unfolding the 4th true leaf.

Onion and garlic

Top dressing of onions and garlic with ammonia is carried out first with solution No. 2 once during planting, 0.5 liters per hole. A week after the plants shoot arrows, begin weekly spraying with solution No. 4. Suddenly there will be signs of nitrogen overeating (dark green glossy foliage), spraying is stopped. If the onion is not on the feather, but on the head, after 2-3 sprays they are stopped and weekly watering with solution No. 3 is started.

Cucumbers and nightshade

Solution No. 2 is watered 3-4 days after planting. At the beginning of budding and flowering, the leaves are fed with solution No. 4.

Flowers

Ammonia for flowers is used in the form of solutions Nos. 1, 3 and 5. The flowers are watered first after the leaves bloom (perennials) or planting 0.5 liters per hole (annuals). Then, before the start of budding, once every 2 weeks it is sprayed with solution No. 5. If the budding is weak, water once or, a week later, another, with solution No. 3. When signs of nitrogen starvation appear during flowering, it is poured with solution No. 1 into the ground well spilled in advance with clean water.

Strawberry

Ammonia for strawberries is used once, after the leaves bloom, in the form of solution No. 2, and then, at intervals of 2 weeks, solution No. 3. Both rows are watered in the evening.

From pests

In conclusion, we give well-known recipes for the use of ammonia from insect pests:

Weevil - 50 ml of a 25% solution per bucket of water. Watering under the root weekly until the pest disappears.
Drosophila (fruit fly, often planted on indoor flowers) - single watering with solution No. 5.
Medvedka - preventive watering of cabbage seedlings with a solution of 10 ml of ammonia in a bucket of water. Watered 0.5 liters per hole when planting.
Onion and carrot fly - 5 ml of 25% ammonia solution per bucket of water. Single watering between rows.
Wireworm on nightshade - 10 ml of 25% ammonia solution per bucket of water. Watering 0.5 liters per bush when planting.
Hidden trunk on a bow - a pharmacy vial (25 ml) in a bucket. The first watering - how the plants will shoot arrows; 2 weeks later another one.
Aphids - a single spraying with a solution from wasps and ants with soap. If necessary, repeat after 2 weeks.

Video: the use of ammonia in the country and in the garden

In case of poisoning with pesticides, hospital assistance is provided immediately in the field by the arrival of a doctor or the departure of the victim to the nearest medical institution. It must be remembered that the first symptoms sometimes disappear and a period of imaginary well-being sets in, followed by pulmonary edema.

If a person is poisoned as a result of inhalation of vapor or dust of toxic substances, the victim is removed from the toxic zone, taken out into fresh air, freed from clothing contaminated with pesticides. In the cold season, he is covered with a blanket, heating pads are placed at his feet. Call a doctor immediately.

If the poison got on the skin (the worker did not use overalls or wore them sloppily), the poison is washed off with a stream of water or carefully removed with a cotton swab, without smearing it on the surface of the skin, then washed with water.

If poisons get on the mucous membrane of the eyes, they are washed with plenty of water or a 2% solution of baking soda.

In case of poisoning through the gastrointestinal tract, the victim is given several glasses of warm water to drink. They cause vomiting by irritating the back of the throat. This procedure is repeated 2-3 times to completely remove the poison from the stomach.

To bind the poison, the victim is given to drink activated charcoal diluted in water (2-3 tablespoons per glass of water), and then saline laxative (20 g of bitter salt per half glass of water).

The victim, who has lost consciousness, is given a sniff of ammonia on a cotton swab. If breathing stops, perform artificial respiration.

Overtreated activities are carried out regardless of the type of poison. If the type of poison is known, additional measures are taken depending on the poison group.

In case of poisoning with pesticides, which contain arsenic, the victim develops nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, general weakness, convulsions. The patient is artificially vomited, the stomach is washed through the probe with a solution of magnesia (20 g per 5 glasses of water). Then they give an antidote - an antidote of metals or an antidote of arsenic. With a weakening of cardiac activity and general weakness, the victim is given strong tea or warmed with heating pads.

In case of poisoning with drugs that retain mercury, a metallic taste appears in the mouth, nausea, vomiting, increased salivation, fatigue, headache, and nervous system disorder.

The patient is removed from the contaminated area, the stomach is washed with a solution of magnesia. They give egg white to bind mercury or a special antidote - unithiol.

In case of poisoning with organophosphorus compounds (butifos, karbofos, methylmercaptophos, octamethyl, drug M-31, thiophos, chlorophos), the victim develops symptoms: cough, stuffiness, constriction of the pupils, headache, salivation, increased sweating, drowsiness, confused consciousness, impaired coordination of movement , muscle tingling, hand trembling, chairman, convulsions. At hit in eyes reddening, lacrimation, narrowing of pupils is noted.

First aid to the hospital: give to drink 6-10 glasses of a 2% solution of baking soda (1 teaspoon per glass of water) and cause vomiting, irritation of the back of the throat or pressure on the root of the tongue. This procedure is repeated 2-3 times. Then they give to drink half a glass of a 2% solution of baking soda with the addition of 2-3 tablespoons of activated charcoal, saline laxative (1-2 tablespoons of Glauber's salt or magnesium sulfate in half a glass of water, washed down with 2-3 glasses of water), 1 tablet atropine. The patient is given strong tea, covered warmly.

When breathing stops, give artificial respiration.

If the drug gets on the skin, treat it with a 5-10% solution of ammonia or remove it with cotton wool (without rubbing) and wash it off with soap and water; -th sodium sulfacyl (albucid).

When bleeding from the nose, cold is placed on the bridge of the nose, a swab moistened with hydrogen peroxide is inserted into the nose. The poison that has got on the skin is washed off with a stream of water, washed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Injured eyes are washed from a pipette with cooled boiled water and 2 drops of a 30% solution of sodium sulfacyl (albucid) are instilled.

Upon contact with the skin, phenol derivatives cause heartburn, itching, and rashes in the form of blisters. In DNOC poisoning, skin areas turn yellow.

In case of poisoning with pesticides of this group, the victim is given to drink 6-10 glasses of water with activated charcoal and vomit is caused. This procedure is repeated 2-3 times. Give a saline laxative.

In case of poisoning with copper preparations, a metallic taste appears in the mouth, salivation, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, pulse acceleration, chills, cold sweat, convulsions.

In this case, you need to give 6-10 glasses of magnesium solution and induce vomiting. Take a saline laxative. With a weakening of cardiac activity, give 20 drops of valerian tincture, strong tea.

In case of poisoning with 2,4D drugs, there are sharp cramping pains in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, headache, fever, chills, weakness, acceleration of the pulse. Help is the same as in case of poisoning with other drugs.

Signs of poisoning with derivatives of carbamic acid and the provision of assistance are the same as in case of poisoning with organochlorine pesticides.

Mineral fertilizers, which are used in agriculture, in case of violation of the organization of technological processes and failure to comply with certain safety rules, cause poisoning, burns, and occupational diseases.

The dust of mineral fertilizers has a harmful effect on the respiratory organs, mucous membranes of the eyes and nasopharynx.

When lime gets into the eyes, there is a sharp pain, lacrimation, photophobia. With chronic damage, the skin becomes dry, hard, cracking. Lime can cause burns and ulcers.

If fertilizer dust gets into the eyes, they are immediately washed with plenty of water (10 minutes).

In case of ammonia poisoning through the upper respiratory tract, the victim is taken out to fresh air (in winter to a warm room), the collar, pass and other clothes that interfere are unbuttoned, warm water vapor is allowed to inhale (vinegar is added to hot water), drink hot milk with drinking soda. If breathing is disturbed or stopped, artificial respiration is performed.

The area of the skin burned with ammonia is washed and a bandage is applied from a 5% solution of vinegar.

If drops of ammonia get into the eyes, they are washed with plenty of water.

Strict and consistent observance of sanitary and hygienic rules and safety precautions when working with pesticides and mineral fertilizers prevents accidents and occupational poisoning.

Poisoning significantly complicates the usual life, manifesting itself with certain symptoms and complications. Despite the fact that it caused poisoning and serious intoxication, it is important to consult a doctor in a timely manner, as well as correctly provide first aid. Given the relevance of this issue, it is important to know how to help a person who has been poisoned by poisonous mushrooms and plants, medications, all kinds of berries and food, pesticides and herbicides, chemicals and fertilizers.

It is important to remember that toxic substances that belong to the listed groups are considered very dangerous. That is why, if help is not provided in time and treatment is not started, there are high chances of death or very serious complications.

Symptoms of mushroom intoxication begin to appear a few hours after eating them. This period of well-being directly depends on what type of mushroom caused the ailment, the method of processing them, age and body weight, the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and the dose of the toxin that entered the body. That is why the incubation period of mushroom poisoning can vary within thirty minutes, six hours and even several weeks.

If a person is poisoned by mushrooms, then the clinical picture will resemble that of any food intoxication.

Signs of poisoning:

vomit;
nausea;
abdominal pain;
loose and frequent stools.

It is worth remembering that there are some differences in what mushroom was eaten and its dose. Basically, you can find such mushroom poisoning as:

Death cap. It provokes nausea and vomiting, bloody and cholera-like stools up to twenty-five times a day, soreness in the abdomen and muscles. As for the vomit, they look like coffee grounds. Quite quickly, convulsions, renal and respiratory failure, interruptions in the work of the heart, jaundice and coma begin to appear.
Talkers and red fly agaric. Symptoms of intoxication proceed incredibly rapidly, namely after thirty minutes, but more than after two hours. In addition to non-specific signs of intoxication, one can observe shortness of breath, lacrimation and excessive production of saliva, increased sweating and delirium, hallucinations, coma and fainting, pupillary constriction, hypotension. If the panther fly agaric became the cause of the poisoning, then pupil dilation, rapid pulse, excessive dryness of the skin and mucous membranes appear.
Lines and morels. In addition to the general clinical picture, convulsions, liver damage of a toxic nature, hemolysis and fainting, kidney damage, and an increase in the size of the spleen can be observed.

It is interesting to know that children are much more sensitive and susceptible to the effects of toxins, poisons, which is why the symptoms of mushroom poisoning appear in them faster. Such pathologies are of particular danger to pregnant women, since the poison can even penetrate the placental barrier, which will have an incredibly strong and detrimental effect on the baby. This leads to the threat of miscarriage. A pregnant woman may experience headache, lack of appetite and nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, dizziness, which can cause severe dehydration.

In any case, you will need competent and urgent first aid for mushroom poisoning. First of all, you need to call an ambulance, and then try to help the victim. To do this, you can perform a number of important and useful activities:

rinse the stomach, you will need at least one and a half liters of water. Then you need to induce vomiting by pressing on the root of the tongue, which will cause irritation. If poisoning occurred during pregnancy, then vomiting cannot be stimulated artificially;
if there is no diarrhea, you will have to drink a tablespoon of castor, vaseline oil;
take a good sorbent - Smecta, Polysorb MP, Activated carbon;
it is important to provide the poisoned person with plenty of drink, namely water, weak tea;
You can apply a heating pad to your feet.

Success and prognosis depend on how quickly and correctly the first aid and treatment was provided.

Video

Poisonous berries and plants

In case of poisoning with berries and poisonous plants, a special clinical picture can be observed, which is important to know about. It is interesting that the spring and summer period is considered the most dangerous, as it is often fixed by intoxication with poisonous plants and berries. There are a lot of reasons for this, but basically a person simply confuses an edible plant or berry with a poisonous one, which causes a number of problems and complications. Of particular danger are those plants whose poisons have a detrimental and destructive effect on the human central nervous system. Such cases are particularly difficult to treat.

As for poisonous plants, they include castor beans, hemlock and belladonna, bitter almonds, milestones and others. Their impact on the human body has almost the same clinical picture. For example, if you eat about 4-7 pieces of wolf berries, then literally after fifteen minutes there is a burning sensation in the pharynx, speech and swallowing become difficult. All this leads to tachycardia, dilated pupils and delirium. If you eat more than ten pieces, then mild symptoms will appear after eight minutes, after which there is a sharp disorientation, prolonged and frequent convulsions are observed. In addition, blood pressure is significantly reduced, there are serious changes in the stability of the heart pulse. It is important to know that paralysis of the respiratory center can cause death, which is no exception.

If you drink a decoction, an infusion of a poisonous plant, then the primary stage of intoxication proceeds instantly, since the liquid is very concentrated, it is very quickly absorbed in the stomach. All this leads to the fact that the poisoned person experiences paralysis, depression of the central nervous system and convulsions.

As for first aid, it is necessary to cleanse the body of poisons and toxic substances. Keep in mind that the sooner you do this, the less dangerous consequences may appear. First aid is carried out according to the classical scenario, so it is necessary to wash the stomach. Then it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance, then lay the victim on his side, provide abundant and warm drink, cover with a blanket.

Poisoning from fertilizers and pesticides

As for mineral fertilizers, they include nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, which significantly pollute the air with vapors and dust. Hydrogen fluoride, as well as its compounds, poses a particular threat. Interestingly, its intensity of exposure increases at high temperatures, indoors. If the components of such fertilizers penetrate the respiratory system, then the patient may experience soreness and burning in the throat, nausea, cough, and pain in the eyes. In addition to all this, many people suffer from pesticides, due to their improper use, non-compliance with safety regulations.

That is why, before the ambulance arrives, it is important to provide adequate assistance in case of poisoning with mineral fertilizers. First of all, you need to ensure the supply of oxygen, take off your clothes. If there are irritations on the skin, it is recommended to wash them with warm soapy water. If pesticides have penetrated into the eyes, this will be indicated by severe lacrimation, pain. In this situation, they must be washed with a soda solution, treated with a cotton swab dipped in a ready-made soda solution.

As for severe poisoning from mineral fertilizers, they can be provoked if they enter the body through the oral cavity. In such a situation, pain in the abdomen, stool disorder and vomiting, weakness and nausea, dizziness, impaired cardiac and respiratory activity predominate. After you call the ambulance team, you need to urgently clear the stomach. To do this, drink at least three glasses of soda solution, after which you need to press your finger on the root of the tongue. Repeat the process three or even four times.

In addition to all of the above, there is a lesion of the blood circulation, lymph nodes and the gastrointestinal tract, tremors and mental disorders, consciousness appear.

As for first aid, it is imperative to call an ambulance team. Then you need to take measures that will help neutralize the poison and stop its active absorption into the blood. If the poison pops on the skin, it is washed off with soap and warm water. If oral poisoning with poisons such as pesticides has occurred, then gastric lavage. To clean the intestines, you need to apply a siphon, cleansing enema. You can not do without enveloping preparations: Polypefan, Almagel, Activated carbon and egg white, starch. You will definitely need a kind of antidote, namely an antidote. Basically it is Unithiol and Antarsin, but it all depends on the type of poisonous substance.

Summing up, it is worth noting that poisoning with a variety of pesticides, plants and mushrooms, fertilizers, needs emergency medical care. Otherwise, the victim may simply die in agony.

FEED POISONING

CLASSIFICATION. SYNDROMES

a group of animal diseases caused by the influence of toxic substances that enter the body with feed or other routes. They account for only 2% of all non-communicable diseases, but the economic damage from them is great, since they are usually accompanied by a severe course, forced slaughter and death of animals.

In the study of feed poisoning, various kinds of classifications with corresponding principles have been developed, but the classification based on the etiological (causal) principle has received the greatest recognition.

According to this classification, poisonings are divided into the following main groups:

1. Fertilizer poisoning.

2. Poisoning with table salt.

3. Urea poisoning.

4. Poisoning by feed and products of technical processing of plants.

5. Feed mycotoxicoses.

6. Poisoning with poisonous herbs.

The most characteristic symptoms of poisoning are:

The suddenness of the onset of the disease after taking a new feed or changing pastures;

Massive lesions of different animal species with predominantly the same type of clinical signs of the disease and pathoanatomical changes; the non-contagious nature of the disease, because it quickly stops when the causative factor is eliminated, and in most cases there is a normal temperature in sick animals or even a decrease in it;

Damage to the central nervous system;

Damage to the digestive system, including the liver;

Damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems;

Kidney damage;

Skin lesions;

Loss of reflexes;

convulsions;

Continuous movements;

Head shaking;

Grinding of teeth;

Excitement or oppression;

Loss of appetite;

Atony of the proventriculus and their flatulence;

Cessation of chewing gum;

Salivation;

Hyperemia and ulceration of the mucous membranes of the mouth and pharynx;

Diarrhea or constipation, in the feces often impurities of mucus and blood;

Signs of parenchymal hepatitis and toxic liver dystrophy. Feed poisoning occurs in all types of animals, but more often in pigs,

large and small cattle.

Nitrate and nitrite poisoning

Preparations containing nitrates are widely used in agriculture as fertilizers (nitrate), as preservatives in the meat industry. Some foods also contain nitrates, such as beets, cabbage, etc.

Etiology. The main cause of the disease is the ingestion of mineral fertilizers by animals inside with water that contains fertilizers, when eating feed collected from fertilized areas. Often, poisoning occurs when animals, especially pigs, are fed boiled and slowly cooling beets, in which nitrites form and accumulate after 10-12 hours. This is due to the fact that during the slow cooling of the beets, favorable conditions are created for the development of denitrifying bacteria from the group of soil and Escherichia coli, which convert nitrates to nitrites. The amount of nitrates and nitrites in such beets can reach up to 25 mg%.

In ruminants, the process of converting nitrates to nitrites occurs in the rumen; in other animals, in the intestines. It has been established that nitrites are about 10 times more toxic than nitrates.

Pathogenesis. The essence of the toxic effect of nitrites is that they convert hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which is unable to bind oxygen. As a result, animals experience hypoxia (oxygen starvation). In addition, nitrites have a paralytic effect on the central nervous system due to the expansion of blood vessels and, on this basis, cause a drop in blood pressure. It has also been established that they destroy carotene and vitamins A, D, E. The dose of nitrites that causes the death of animals is 0.07-0.7 g / kg of live weight for pigs, for other animals - 0.15-0.17 g /kg.

Symptoms. The disease develops more often acutely. Animals have no appetite, salivation, vomiting, diarrhea are observed, in ruminants - atony of the pre-stomachs.

General weakness, disorder of coordination of movements, muscle twitching, convulsions, paralysis and paresis of the limbs, respiratory and cardiovascular insufficiency are rapidly increasing. The general body temperature remains normal or decreases.

pathological changes. They detect hyperemia of the mucous membranes, massive hemorrhages in the gastrointestinal tract, parenchymal organs, and especially in the kidneys and bladder. The blood is not clotted, brown or dirty-brown in color.

Diagnosis and differential diagnosis. It is based on anamnestic data, the most important of which is information about the possibility of animals accessing mineral fertilizers, feeding them boiled beets, and characteristic clinical symptoms. The final - according to the results of blood tests for the content of methemoglobin in it. When making a diagnosis, other poisonings are excluded according to their characteristic features.

Forecast. In case of a hyperacute course of the disease (15-20 minutes) and acute, the prognosis is unfavorable. In other cases - doubtful and favorable.

Treatment. It is necessary to wash the scar and stomach as soon as possible, put laxatives inside. Drugs that neutralize methemoglobin are used. To do this, a 1-2% solution of methylene blue is injected subcutaneously. On sheep with a positive result, a mixture of antitoxic drugs was tested, consisting of 150 ml of 10% glucose solution, 2 ml of 10% ascorbic acid solution (intravenously), 1 ml of 5% thiamine bromide solution and 1 ml of 6% nirizoxin solution (intramuscularly). It is applied twice on the first day, once on the next four days.

Symptomatic treatment is carried out, isotonic (physiological) solutions of sodium chloride and glucose are administered intravenously or subcutaneously in a ratio of 1: 1, cardiac preparations are prescribed.

Prevention. Before feeding, examine the feed for the content of nitrates in them. Feed boiled beets to pigs no later than 1-2 hours after boiling. Apply nitrogenous fertilizers to the soil in accordance with existing regulations.

After harvesting feeds and before feeding them, a bioassay should be carried out on several animals, feeding them ad libitum with these feeds after a preliminary 10-12 hour fast. If the content of nitrates in the dry matter of the feed is up to 0.5%, then it is fed to animals without restrictions.

At a higher concentration of nitrates, feeding is carried out in such a way that the daily dose of nitrates does not exceed 0.3-0.4 g/kg of animal weight. The toxicity of feeds that contain high levels of nitrates can be reduced by soaking them in water for 1-2 hours.