glacial_queen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
glacial_queen) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2015-01-22 09:43 am
glacial_queen) wrote in fandomhigh2015-01-22 09:43 am
Entry tags:
History of Poisons, Thursday Per 2
As Karla's note from last week had specified, today's class was instructed to meet at the Causeway. At 9:01, a portal opened, revealing a large room with several long tables, surrounded by drying plants and laboratory equipment. It looked like a cross between a stillroom, a classroom, and an alchemical lab. From what could be seen through a window set into the stone wall, the city outside the room was most certainly not Baltimore. Even the sunlight was different, the bright colors of early evening, rather than the diffuse light of morning. At the front of the room, an older woman stood in front of a chalkboard. The chalkboard was covered in a illustration of a plant and multiple notes. The woman was covered in a black gown that resembled cobwebs. She had pale blonde hair and was dressed in a long, black, somewhat cobwebby-looking gown and a large Opal necklace that hung down on her chest. People who took Karla's class last semester and spoke to the fortune teller would recognize her as Karla's old teacher, Helene. In the flesh, this time, rather than a hologram. "Hello," she said with a stiff nod. "Please step through the portal and find a seat. We have much to cover today."
Once the students had crossed into Kaeleer and taken their seats, Helene gave a brisk nod. "Pens and notebooks out," she said. "I am Lady Helene, the most senior Black Widow in Glacia. I am both the leader of the Hourglass and head of the coven in Sidra, which your teacher once belonged to when she was a girl." It had been disbanded, its members scattered, killed, or maimed for many years until Karla had returned to claim her Territory back from her uncle, but that was a history lesson and they were here to learn about poisons. Though poisons, history, and politics generally went hand-in-hand. "Do you have any questions, I will be happy to explain. Do you have any pointless statements or jokes to prove your own cleverness, keep them to yourself."
If Helene were a witch from a different canon, there would be a sign above her door that read None of this nonsense, please.
"Today, we will be discussing some common treatments, at least for ingested poisons derived from plants and fungi. With any luck, you will need this information for educational purposes only, but no discussion of poisons would be complete without covering the most basic of medical treatments. And since you lack a natural Black Widow's resistance to toxins, Karla felt it would be better to have this discussion sooner rather than later." Which showed...an unexpected bit of foresight, honestly. "Please keep in mind that these antidotes have limited effectiveness, both for what they can treat and when. In almost every case, it would be better for you to contact your nearest Healer or Black Widow for assistance." She erased some of the notes on the chalkboard and wrote 1-800-222-1222. "Karla gave me this string of numbers to pass along to you. It belongs to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which likely means something to you on that island of yours." Or maybe it was a landen thing? Helene didn't know.
"The most useful and effective antidote to an ingested poison is activated charcoal," Helene continued briskly. Anyone not taking notes would be glared at. "Activated charcoal is made when regular charcoal is heated at high temperatures along with an oxidizing gas, like air or steam, to increase the adsorption capacity. If you lack activated charcoal, regular charcoal can be used, but it is easily two or three times less effective. Activated charcoal works by the principle of adsorption, meaning that it causes extremely tiny particles to adhere to its surface. Activated charcoal has a much higher surface volume than non-activated charcoal, so it is capable of adsorbing a much higher volume of poison. Use roughly 5 to 10 times the amount of ingested poison, or, if that is unknown, roughly a cup's worth of powdered charcoal. Mixing it with water is generally a good idea as well, so it's not accidentally inhaled. Often the charcoal is paired with either an emetic or a cathartic, in order to speed its removal from the body. A cathartic is preferred, as vomiting via emetic can had additional consequences, but when speed is of the essence, either will work."
"While activated charcoal is the most universal of cures outside of Craft, it is not foolproof. It is primarily limited to ingested poisons, doing very little against inhaled or intravenous ones. Furthermore, it is useless when the poisons in question are: strong bases, iron, lithium, arsenic, methanol, ethanol or yellow oleander seeds. When the poisons are either acids or alkalies, activated charcoal is in fact contraindicated. So don't use it. Activated charcoal can also have side effects, including the possibility of aspirating it in the lungs if improperly administered and it interferes with the absorption of other drugs and medications into the bloodstream. Don't take activated charcoal if you need to take other medication shortly thereafter."
Without pausing to see if the students were keeping up, Helene continued on with the next option. "As I mentioned in regards to activated charcoal, inducing vomiting is generally not a preferred method of handling poison ingestion. Not only is there the worry of aspiration and choking, certain poisons can do as much damage coming back up as they did going back down. The mouth and esophagus are connected to the sinus cavities and the like and if you think getting poison out of your stomach is hard, I suggest you try removing it from tear ducts. Actually, no I don't. I suggest imagining it, though." Yeah. Just let that image percolate in your brains for a bit, why not? "If poisons need to be removed from the stomach immediately, gastric lavage is a another form a treatment. It is best left to professionals, as it involves sending a tube into the stomach via one's mouth or--even less pleasantly--one's nostrils. Warm water and saline are then poured directly down the the tube, only to be siphoned back up. It can be used in conjunction with activated charcoal, or by itself, especially if the poison is a solid, like almonds or apple seeds."
Just what everyone wanted to discuss before lunch, right?
"Those are the two most effective methods of dealing with poisons, though there are others. Ingesting milk or raw egg whites can help because the proteins found within both can bind and sequester heavy metal ions, preventing their absorption by the body. baking soda can also minimize or delay the effects of ingested poisons, at least of a certain family. In the case of ethanol ingestion, like from improperly distilled alcohols, vodka is often the best antidote for it. The body preferentially breaks down methanol over ethanol, and so your liver will work to break down the vodka, leaving the ethanol to pass through your system."
You heard it here, folks. Drinking could save your life.
"On the chalkboard behind me, I have written down many antidotes to common poisons. These are often very difficult to obtain and need to be administered in precise dosages. No few of them are poisons in and of themselves. It is doubtful that you will ever find yourself giving these antidotes to another person, unless you intend to make an occupation of medicine, but these may still be useful to you. You may take the rest of the period to copy the information down."
Once the students had crossed into Kaeleer and taken their seats, Helene gave a brisk nod. "Pens and notebooks out," she said. "I am Lady Helene, the most senior Black Widow in Glacia. I am both the leader of the Hourglass and head of the coven in Sidra, which your teacher once belonged to when she was a girl." It had been disbanded, its members scattered, killed, or maimed for many years until Karla had returned to claim her Territory back from her uncle, but that was a history lesson and they were here to learn about poisons. Though poisons, history, and politics generally went hand-in-hand. "Do you have any questions, I will be happy to explain. Do you have any pointless statements or jokes to prove your own cleverness, keep them to yourself."
If Helene were a witch from a different canon, there would be a sign above her door that read None of this nonsense, please.
"Today, we will be discussing some common treatments, at least for ingested poisons derived from plants and fungi. With any luck, you will need this information for educational purposes only, but no discussion of poisons would be complete without covering the most basic of medical treatments. And since you lack a natural Black Widow's resistance to toxins, Karla felt it would be better to have this discussion sooner rather than later." Which showed...an unexpected bit of foresight, honestly. "Please keep in mind that these antidotes have limited effectiveness, both for what they can treat and when. In almost every case, it would be better for you to contact your nearest Healer or Black Widow for assistance." She erased some of the notes on the chalkboard and wrote 1-800-222-1222. "Karla gave me this string of numbers to pass along to you. It belongs to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, which likely means something to you on that island of yours." Or maybe it was a landen thing? Helene didn't know.
"The most useful and effective antidote to an ingested poison is activated charcoal," Helene continued briskly. Anyone not taking notes would be glared at. "Activated charcoal is made when regular charcoal is heated at high temperatures along with an oxidizing gas, like air or steam, to increase the adsorption capacity. If you lack activated charcoal, regular charcoal can be used, but it is easily two or three times less effective. Activated charcoal works by the principle of adsorption, meaning that it causes extremely tiny particles to adhere to its surface. Activated charcoal has a much higher surface volume than non-activated charcoal, so it is capable of adsorbing a much higher volume of poison. Use roughly 5 to 10 times the amount of ingested poison, or, if that is unknown, roughly a cup's worth of powdered charcoal. Mixing it with water is generally a good idea as well, so it's not accidentally inhaled. Often the charcoal is paired with either an emetic or a cathartic, in order to speed its removal from the body. A cathartic is preferred, as vomiting via emetic can had additional consequences, but when speed is of the essence, either will work."
"While activated charcoal is the most universal of cures outside of Craft, it is not foolproof. It is primarily limited to ingested poisons, doing very little against inhaled or intravenous ones. Furthermore, it is useless when the poisons in question are: strong bases, iron, lithium, arsenic, methanol, ethanol or yellow oleander seeds. When the poisons are either acids or alkalies, activated charcoal is in fact contraindicated. So don't use it. Activated charcoal can also have side effects, including the possibility of aspirating it in the lungs if improperly administered and it interferes with the absorption of other drugs and medications into the bloodstream. Don't take activated charcoal if you need to take other medication shortly thereafter."
Without pausing to see if the students were keeping up, Helene continued on with the next option. "As I mentioned in regards to activated charcoal, inducing vomiting is generally not a preferred method of handling poison ingestion. Not only is there the worry of aspiration and choking, certain poisons can do as much damage coming back up as they did going back down. The mouth and esophagus are connected to the sinus cavities and the like and if you think getting poison out of your stomach is hard, I suggest you try removing it from tear ducts. Actually, no I don't. I suggest imagining it, though." Yeah. Just let that image percolate in your brains for a bit, why not? "If poisons need to be removed from the stomach immediately, gastric lavage is a another form a treatment. It is best left to professionals, as it involves sending a tube into the stomach via one's mouth or--even less pleasantly--one's nostrils. Warm water and saline are then poured directly down the the tube, only to be siphoned back up. It can be used in conjunction with activated charcoal, or by itself, especially if the poison is a solid, like almonds or apple seeds."
Just what everyone wanted to discuss before lunch, right?
"Those are the two most effective methods of dealing with poisons, though there are others. Ingesting milk or raw egg whites can help because the proteins found within both can bind and sequester heavy metal ions, preventing their absorption by the body. baking soda can also minimize or delay the effects of ingested poisons, at least of a certain family. In the case of ethanol ingestion, like from improperly distilled alcohols, vodka is often the best antidote for it. The body preferentially breaks down methanol over ethanol, and so your liver will work to break down the vodka, leaving the ethanol to pass through your system."
You heard it here, folks. Drinking could save your life.
"On the chalkboard behind me, I have written down many antidotes to common poisons. These are often very difficult to obtain and need to be administered in precise dosages. No few of them are poisons in and of themselves. It is doubtful that you will ever find yourself giving these antidotes to another person, unless you intend to make an occupation of medicine, but these may still be useful to you. You may take the rest of the period to copy the information down."
Sign In (01/22)
Re: Sign In (01/22)
Re: Sign In (01/22)
Re: Sign In (01/22)
Re: Sign In (01/22)
Re: Sign In (01/22)
Before Class
complaintalk to your classmates about waiting in the cold, waiting amongst eel bits, or going through a magic portal.Listen to the Lecture
Pass notes or whisper at your own risk.
Re: Listen to the Lecture
The Chantry likely would, though, and the chance grew larger every passing week.
Re: Listen to the Lecture
Re: Listen to the Lecture
And to pack activated charcoal in one of her pouches, just in case someone ever figured out who she really was and tried to do something about it.
Re: Listen to the Lecture
Watch a Demonstration
Umm, surprise?
"However, Karla has said that since you are not Black Widows, this would be inappropriate." Did Helene look a little disappointed by that? Surely that was your imagination. "Instead, I will demonstrate the proper procedure for gastric lavage. You may choose to watch from your seats or come closer for a better view."
[Link goes to a Youtube clip with a doctor and a practice dummy. Use your imagination to make it sound all ~Kaeleeran~]
Discussion Questions
Helene looked dubious at the prospect.
Discussion Question 1
Re: Discussion Question 1
Re: Discussion Question 1
"Why?" Helene asked. "What is it about Healing that calls to you? "
Re: Discussion Question 1
Discussion Question 2
Re: Discussion Question 2
Re: Discussion Question 2
"What about coating your blade in poison?" Helene asked. "You'd be able to fell an opponent with just the nick of a blade."
Re: Discussion Question 2
Re: Discussion Question 2
"Why?" Helene asked again, with the smile of someone who knew they were kind of being a pain in the ass.
Re: Discussion Question 2
Discussion Question 3
Beat.
"No, you can't examine any of the poisons I have here, so don't ask."
You had to be ready for such questions when you had taught Karla.
Talk to the TA
Re: Talk to the TA
Talk to Helene
OOC
And so looking forward to next week's class!
Re: OOC
Re: OOC