Antimony poisoning facts

Headache, nausea and depression are the two most common signs of antimony exposure. Usually, headaches take place too. However, all these signs appear after a minimal exposure to antimony. If you happen to be exposed to this toxic material for longer periods of time, the result of this exposure can even be death.

What is Antimony?

People claim that antimony got its name from Greek words anti and monos which mean “that which cannot be divided”, standing for this metalloid's main characteristic. Antimony has been used since time immemorial. Even Middle East women used it to darken the area under their eyes, for cosmetic purposes, 3000 years before Christ was born. Despite the fact that a lot of people use antimony today, this element is toxic and excessive exposure to it can be more than dangerous.

Signs of Antimony Exposure

Quite often, antimony shares the effects with arsenic. While low dosages of this element may lead to headaches, nausea, dizziness and depression, larger amount of exposure will give birth to vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and discomfort and tingling sensation in the limbs. Long-term presence of antimony in a person's life may even result in hair loss and scaly skin rash which is known as lichen planus.

Treatment for Antimony Poisoning

Since most of the symptoms take place due to the exposure, the sufferer needs to be taken away from antimony. Clothes and air needs to be checked for the presence of this element. The skin should be washed by soap and water, removing signs of antimony. Then, once this is done, one should seek medical attention in order to get proper hydration treatment. In some cases, patients need to undergo stomach washing or take drugs which deal with antimony present inside the organism. These are called chelating drugs.

Be Careful, Be Smart, Be Healthy

There were situations in the past, where people noticed presence of antimony in some toys for children. GoodGuide was the company producing these, and the levels of antimony exceeded the healthy limit. Thus, keep in mind that certain toy companies may use antimony or other potentially harmful elements in their products. So, stay away from these brands, keeping your child safe. Apart from toys, antimony is also found in clothes and fire-resistant materials.

Thus, know where antimony can be found, stay alert and isolate you and your family from it, staying safe and healthy. Antimony is dangerous and can be found all around us. So, stay careful.