Composition. Source. Uses. Characters. Toxic qualities. Convulsions:
paralysis: cyanosis; weak pulse; bitter almond odor; dark red urine;
sopor, giddiness; reduced size of red blood globules; congested brain,
stomach, intestines. Treatment: emesis, purgation, stimulants,
electricity, derivatives, bleeding, normal salt solution.
Nitro-benzol (Nitro-benzine, C_{6}H_{5}NO_{2}) is a coal tar product,
formed in large quantities in the manufacture of aniline dyes and
extensively used as a flavoring agent for soaps, sweet meats, etc. It is
formed by the addition of strong nitric acid to benzine, and appears as
a yellow fluid with an odor resembling, yet somewhat different from,
that of prussic acid or oil of bitter almonds. It may prove deadly to
man or dog in a dose of fifteen drops, though most commonly it enters
the system by inhalation. In animals the prominent symptoms are
convulsions and paralysis, supervening on a period of weak circulation
and pulse, and blueness of the visible mucous membranes. The
characteristic odor resembling the oil of bitter almonds exhales from
the lungs and skin. In man there are dilatation of the pupils, blueness
of the lips and nails, pallor of the face, weak pulse, slow breathing
(often in the end Cheyne-Stokes respiration), a dark maroon or port wine
color of the urine, and amblyopia. In the chronic cases the skin is
yellowish, and there are weariness, a dragging walk, headache, morning
anorexia, drowsiness, giddiness, numbness of the hands or other parts
and emaciation. The blood is chocolate color with red globules reduced
in size, in number and in hæmoglobin, but containing an excess of carbon
dioxide. The brain is often congested and the gastro-intestinal mucosa
like the skin may be yellow (from alleged formation of picric acid). In
chronic cases disseminated sclerosis may be seen.
In _treatment_ emesis, purgation, stimulants (ammonia, camphor),
galvanism, sinapisms to the chest, and phlebotomy, with injection of
normal salt solution, may be resorted to, as in aniline poisoning.