On Monday 02 Apr 2012 3:09:25 pm Eugen Leitl wrote: > Wussies -- you need to come to Bangalore Medical college emergency wards in > the main two attached hospitals. I was in one during internship and we used > to receive at least 12-20 cases of OP poisoining at night between > 7-9PM.(Typically after work (5 PM) husband gets his daily wage drinks and > then comes home to infuriated wife who quarrels and one of them consumes OP > in a fit of anger and then is shifted to us peri *PM which sued to also be > shift change time !!) bangalore for years was the suicide capital of the > world and we had an OP ward" to house organophosphorous poisoning patients > and since we were inundated simple rule wa sto keep patients "Mad as a > Hatter" to ensure none of them would slip into cholinergic death !!.
Well organophosphorus poisoning is one of the most common methods of suicide in India and I have seen dozens, although my line of work does not require me to work with these patients any more. Malathion soaked vomit on skin does not sound like a big deal. As long as it is washed off soon significant absorption will not occur from the skin. Clothese need to be changed, if soaked. But the vomit in the ambulance cabin must have been smelling pretty strong I guess. That would make anyone sick. In India one can drive with open windows. Don't know about ambulances in the US All thie "hazmat"/decontamination stuff sounds like hysteria - but in the US it is justified because lawyers are probably waiting to sue someone's pants off. Better to "CYA" shiv
