RUBBING ALCOHOL

Rubbing alcohol is also known as surgical spirit or isopropyl alcohol. It is made out of mainly made from propanol. Volatile. It has a melting point of-89C. Boiling point is 82.5C. It can be found at pharmacies or hospitals. It is colorless in appearance. It has the smell resembling vodka. It has the characteristic taste of very concentrated alcohol.

Symptoms: Over exposure can cause vomiting, nausea, coma, headache etc. Exposure can cause itching, dry skin, burning of skin. Long Term Exposure: Constant exposure of any irritant to the skin such as alcohol gel can cause something called irritant dermatitis. This causes a severely itchy, red rash and pain in the areas exposed to the irritant. It resolves once the irritant use has been stopped for a few days. Chronic Exposure: Currently, there are no adequate chronic exposure data for isopropyl alcohol in humans. A sub acute intake of rubbing alcohol by groups of 8 men for 6 weeks had no effect on urine, blood cells or serum.

Methods of forensic detection: A person suspected of poisoning by the consumption or inhalation of rubbing alcohol is to give a blood test. In the blood test, both the level of acetone and the level of blood isopropanol concentration is measured. The isoprapanol concentration ranged from 10 to 250 mg/dL. Acetone ranged from 40 to 300 mg/dL. Acetone can be found in people with diabetes mellitus or starvation ketosis. Therefore, this range is important. Lasting effects of rubbing alcohol; Long term exposure can increase the chance of nasal sinus cancer. It can also cause the skin to crack. Treatment: (First aid): Eye Contact

* Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes, occasionally lifting upper and lower lids. Skin Contact * Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash contaminated skin with large amounts of water. Breathing * Remove the person from exposure.
Bottled rubbing alcohol/isopropyl alcohol

Uses: 1.Dissolve windshield frost, 2. Cleaning your phone, 3. Removing ink stains. 4. Removing dog ticks, 5. Clean bathroom fixtures. Toxicity: It can cause failure of the Central Nervous System. It has to be ingested, inhaled or absorbed for this to occur.

Rubbing alcohol is present in hand sanitizers. Over usage can be harmful

* Begin rescue breathing if breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. Treatment may include homodialysis, dialysis, oxygen therapy or fluid replacement.

Dialysis

Case with Rubbing Alcohol Ramineh Behbehanian, 50, a California woman was convicted of attempted murder when she tried to sneak in bottles of orange juice with a lethal concentration of rubbing alcohol into a local Starbucks on April 30, 2013. A customer saw Behbehanian take out two bottles of orange juice from her bag and place them in the open air refrigerated display case. Noticing the suspicious activity the customer drew the managers attention to it. Seeing this Behbehanian immediately started to flee. But, an employee tracked her down to the parking lot and jotted down her license plate. San Jose police officers tracked down Behbehanian Monday night at her San Jose home located about five miles away from the store. She was placed into custody on suspicion of attempted murder and felony poisoning. Fire-fighters who tested the juice found a lethal concentration of rubbing isopropyl alcohol in it. Luckily, no one drank from the bottle due to the customers quick reaction. The manager refused to disclose the concentration of the poison in the juice. Police still do not know the motive, or if she has done this before or if she would have done it again. The store was closed for the rest of the day and all the bottles from the open air refrigerator disposed. All nearby Starbucks were informed and all bottles were checked if they were unsealed. Glossary: Toxicity: Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage an organism. Volatile: (of a substance) easily evaporated at normal temperatures. Central nervous system: The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord. Dialysis: the process of removing blood from an artery (as of a kidney patient), purifying it by dialysis, adding vital substances, and returning it to a vein Serum: an amber-colored, protein-rich liquid that separates out when blood coagulates

Rubbing Alcohol

Bibliography: Website Title: Fox News

Article Title: California woman accused of sneaking juice mixed with rubbing alcohol into Starbucks Publisher: FOX News Network Electronically Published: April 30, 2013 Website Title: Healthlines RSS News Article Title: Isopropyl Alcohol Poisoning Author: Lydia Krause Medically Reviewed by: George Krucik, MD Date Accessed: March 16, 2014

Ramineh Behbehanian convicted of attempt at murder

Shabab Huq 03/17/14 Period 5