bubbler just coming out of the kiln. pics to come shortly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon
Medical applications
Activated carbon is used to treat
poisonings and
overdoses following oral
ingestion.
It is thought to bind to poison and prevent its absorption by the
gastrointestinal tract. In cases of suspected poisoning, medical personnel administer activated charcoal on the scene or at a hospital's
emergency department. Dosing is usually empirical at 1 gram/kg of body weight (for adolescents or adults, give 50–100 g), usually given only once, but depending on the drug taken, it may be given more than once. In rare situations activated charcoal is used in Intensive Care to filter out harmful drugs from the blood stream of poisoned patients. Activated charcoal has become the treatment of choice for many poisonings, and other decontamination methods such as
ipecac-induced
emesis or
stomach pumping are now used rarely.
Activated charcoal for medical use.
While activated carbon is useful in acute poisoning, it has been shown to not be effective in long term accumulation of toxins, such as with the use of toxic herbicides.
[5]
Mechanisms of action:
Incorrect application (e.g. into the lungs) results in
pulmonary aspiration which can sometimes be fatal if immediate medical treatment is not initiated.
[6] The use of activated charcoal is
contraindicated when the ingested substance is an acid, an alkali, or a petroleum product.
For pre-hospital (
paramedic) use, it comes in plastic tubes or bottles, commonly 12.5 or 25 grams, pre-mixed with water. The trade names include InstaChar, SuperChar, Actidose, Charcodote, and Liqui-Char, but it is commonly called activated charcoal.
Ingestion of activated charcoal prior to consumption of
alcoholic beverages appeared to reduce absorption of
ethanol into the blood. 5 to 15 milligrams of charcoal per kilogram of body weight taken at the same time as 170 ml of pure ethanol (which equals to about 10 servings of an alcoholic beverage), over the course of one hour, seemed to reduce potential
blood alcohol content.
[7] Yet other studies showed that this is not the case, and that ethanol blood concentrations were
increased because of activated charcoal use.
[8]
Charcoal biscuits were sold in England starting in the early 19th century, originally as an
antidote to
flatulence and stomach trouble.
[9]
Tablets or
capsules of activated charcoal are used in many countries as an
over-the-counter drug to treat
diarrhea,
indigestion, and
flatulence.
[10] There is some evidence of its effectiveness as a treatment for
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),
[11] and to prevent diarrhea in cancer patients who have received
irinotecan.
[12] It can interfere with the absorbency of some medications, and lead to unreliable readings in medical tests such as the
guaiac card test.
[13] Activated charcoal is also used for bowel preparation by reducing intestinal gas content before abdominal
radiography to visualize
bile and pancreatic and
renal stones. A type of charcoal biscuit has also been marketed as a pet care product.
