You are used to calling the Earth your home. However, it is this cozy blue-green planet that threatens to kill you every day in hundreds of cruel and painful ways. And one of her most terrible killing weapons is poisons. Some of them will not only leave you no chance of salvation, but also turn the last hours of your life into a hellish nightmare. Today we will get acquainted with the most dangerous poisons that exist on Earth, and find out what they can do with your fragile bodies.
Dimethyl mercury
Our list is opened by neurotoxins, namely dimethylmercury. Scientists once used this substance in their research, but later found an alternative to it. And that's great news! After all, dimethylmercury is one of the most dangerous poisons on the planet! It penetrates without problems through standard laboratory gloves and then absorbs into the skin. And if this happened, you are already dead. Even the smell of dimethylmercury is deadly. Feeling it, say goodbye to life!
To send you to the next world, a negligible amount of poison is enough. 0.1 ml of neurotoxin will be the beginning of the end for you. Symptoms of poisoning, including abdominal pain, dizziness, numbness, hearing and visual impairment, and slurred speech, may not appear until months after treatment is no longer effective, which means your chances of survival are virtually nil.
Russell's Viper Venom
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If you decide to relax in India, be careful and watch your step! Indeed, in this exotic country, there is a high probability of meeting a chain viper, whose poison can turn your blood into jelly! It is more dangerous than most hemotoxins. Russell's viper venom will cause swelling and blistering, nausea and dizziness. It will make you urinate with blood and possibly cause kidney failure. And if you manage to survive after being bitten by a snake, then for many more weeks you will shudder from pain and try to get rid of bubbles.
Ricin
Fans of Breaking Bad already know about the lethal properties of ricin, a plant poison found in castor bean seeds. However, we will still tell you more about them.
Once in the body, ricin blocks the synthesis of proteins in cells, and they die, which leads to organ failure. And if you swallow it, like poor Lydia, then very soon you will have severe gastroenteritis and bleeding. Then the kidneys, spleen and liver will fail, and in the end vomiting, bloody diarrhea and death will await.
If the poison enters your body through the lungs or enters the bloodstream through an open wound, then the ending will not be better. In the first case, you expect a cough, general weakness, fever, pulmonary edema and respiratory failure, in the second - chills, intense fever, headache and convulsions. You will then develop severe kidney and liver damage. The result, however, is always the same - death.
However, it will not come immediately. You will die in 2-14 days in terrible agony. Their duration will be determined by the dose of ricin and the way in which it has entered the body. Moreover, at first you may not know that you are already actually dead, since some signs of poisoning are very similar to the symptoms of ordinary infectious diseases.
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide, unlike other toxins, is unlikely to make you suffer a lot. He entered our list due to his extraordinary cunning.
It should be feared if there are faulty appliances in the house. In this case, carbon monoxide may appear suddenly. But the worst thing is that you will not notice it. A "silent killer" without taste or smell will block oxygen from reaching your cells, cause mild ailments like nausea and headaches, instantly knock you out of consciousness and kill you before you wake up from your "slumber".
The chances of surviving in this situation are minimal. But if you are lucky, you will most likely remain completely healthy, although there is some chance of getting partial brain necrosis.
Tetrodotoxin
In a more sophisticated way, it kills the poison tetrodotoxin contained in some species of marine life, including the puffer fish, from which the Japanese make their signature dish fugu. Scientists have not been able to understand whether these "cute" creatures produce poison themselves, or whether it is a product of the activity of beneficial bacteria, which they provide "shelter".
However, it will not matter at all if you eat an improperly prepared Japanese delicacy or break the law by having a blue-ringed octopus in your home that will bite you one day. After all, the poison that has entered your body is much more toxic than potassium cyanide. It will interrupt signals between the brain and body, thereby causing muscle paralysis and subsequent respiratory arrest.
No antidote has yet been found against tetrodotoxin. It is possible to save a person only by supporting the work of blood vessels and respiratory organs until its action ends. Nevertheless, poisoning with tetrodotoxin is fatal in 60% of cases.
Polonium-210
Polonium-210 is considered one of the most dangerous and, fortunately, rare poisons on Earth. It's almost impossible to get it. After all, it is produced at nuclear facilities, whose activities are tightly controlled.
Polonium is radioactive, and it will be fatal to enter your body through an open wound, the respiratory tract, or with food. The powerful effect of the poison is almost impossible to stop. You will be sick. Fingers and toes become numb. You will soon feel the symptoms of tachycardia. Your hair will start to fall out. The throat will swell. Tumors of different localization will appear. You might go blind. Internal organs will gradually begin to fail.
It is only experienced specialists who can determine what caused the rapid destruction in the body. However, if the dose of polonium injected into it exceeds 0.1–0.2 mcg, even a correct diagnosis will not help you. You will die anyway.
Brown recluse spider venom
If you suddenly find yourself in the eastern United States, then carefully check your shoes, inspect pillows and exercise caution when cleaning the premises. After all, it is easy to find a brown recluse spider there, which will immediately bite you, deciding that you are threatening him. At the same time, you will almost not feel anything, but after some time you will start to feel sick and feverish. If the spider injected a large amount of poison, then at the site of the bite you will have a necrotic ulcer up to 25 cm in diameter. And this is not the worst thing to expect in this situation. Children, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems run the risk of internal injury and death.
VX
And the last deadly poison on our list is VX. It was originally developed as a powerful insecticide. It even went on sale, but was quickly withdrawn from it because of its unusually strong toxicity. Thanks to her, the world powers became interested in this poison, and soon VX was turned into a weapon of mass destruction. Fortunately, he was never used in hostilities. Otherwise, the consequences would be dire.
This venom typically causes intense muscle contraction, shortness of breath, loss of bowel control, blistering eyes, choking, and death. And if you were led to survive, then you would suffer from serious mental disorders for the rest of your days. VX wouldn't give you even a tiny chance of a happy ending.
Maria Shcherova