Dioxin in the body. Dioxins and their impact on human health

Dioxin belongs to the group of polycyclic compounds that are formed due to human (anthropogenic) activities. Thus, it turns out that Dioxin is a toxic compound that arose solely due to human fault. It would be more correct to use the term dioxins.

The substances are solid crystalline structures, colorless and odorless. By their nature they are inert and heat stable. Dioxins include a large number of chemicals: organochlorine, organobromine, organochlorine-bromine ether compounds.

Effect of dioxins

Almost all of these substances (about 95%) enter the human body with food and water, in which they can accumulate and be stored for a long time. The rest of these compounds can enter the body through inhalation of polluted air or dust. And also do not forget about the percutaneous (transcutaneous) method of penetration into the body.

Once inside, toxic compounds travel with the bloodstream. They are able to be deposited in all cells of the body. Due to their structural features, dioxins have the following properties:

almost insoluble in water;
are better soluble in organic compounds.

Therefore, the substances are very chemically stable compounds. They decompose extremely slowly, so they remain unchanged in the environment for hundreds of years.

It is recommended to read in what cases it helps the body.

Even minimal doses of dioxin cause changes in the genetic apparatus of the cell, which leads to the development of chronic intoxication (poisoning) and significantly increases the risk of tumor formation. Mutagens and carcinogens manifest themselves in a similar way (see).

Dioxin poisoning is characterized by:

losing weight;

poor appetite (up to its complete loss);

skin diseases;

acute depressive states;

drowsiness;

damage to nerve fibers;

dysmetabolic manifestations;

changes in blood composition.

Dioxins and their effects on the human body have been well studied. Once in the body, they inhibit immune processes, disrupt the processes of mitosis and meiosis, and become the cause of oncological pathologies.

The compounds affect the functioning of the endocrine glands, which disrupts metabolic processes, reproduction and tissue growth. The balance of hormonal production of the pancreas and thyroid glands, sex glands is disrupted, and the likelihood of developing diabetes mellitus increases. Puberty slows down significantly, the risk of infertility and abortion, and fetal development abnormalities increases.

Women note disruptions in the normal menstrual cycle, and reproductive dysfunction may develop. The peculiarity of these processes is that they pass unnoticed. Under the influence of toxins, metabolic processes are disrupted, the immune system is sharply suppressed, up to the development of immunodeficiency (it can reach the state of “chemically induced AIDS”).

Developing organisms: embryos, fetuses and children are extremely susceptible to these poisons. And since the substance has a long latent period, it is quite difficult to understand whether a person is sick. In addition, the effect of substances of this type directly depends on the size of the absorbed doses and age.

Dioxin compounds can accumulate in pregnant women and be excreted in breast milk. In addition, they are able to be transferred through the placenta to the fetus. Approximately forty percent of all these toxins during breastfeeding pass into the baby.

Substances that enhance the effects of dioxins

The effect of dioxins is not noticeable until a critical dose of these substances accumulates in the body. That's when the disease manifests itself. The dose that can lead to human death ranges from ten grams per kilogram of body weight. But at the same time, any (including below critical) dose of chemical compounds is toxic. In addition, dioxin synergists exist in nature - these are substances that can enhance the effect of these poisons. This is especially typical for the carcinogenic effect of compounds (see).

Such substances include:

lead and its salts,

cadmium,

mercury,

nitrates,

sulfides,

chlorophenols,

exposure to ionizing radiation.

Dioxin and dioxidin in medicine

Dioxin and dioxidin (a drug based on it) are used in medicine. Having read the above information, the question arises: “Where is dioxin used, after all, it is a deadly poison?” It is used in medicine in extremely small doses. The substance belongs to antibacterial drugs with a wide spectrum of action. Its use is highly effective in the fight against aerobic and anaerobic pathogens.

Dioxin preparations are indicated for use in the presence of a purulent-inflammatory process in the chest or abdominal cavity; they are used in the treatment of deep wounds, abscesses and phlegmons. In addition, it is used to prevent infections after insertion of a urinary catheter.

How to remove dioxin from the body

How to remove dioxin from the body:

ensure a sufficient supply of clean air;

perform gastric lavage;

force the patient to take a large dose of sorbents;

the patient should drink plenty of fluids;

the patient is taken to a medical facility where he can receive qualified assistance.

It is useful to read about acute and chronic

Dioxin is a synthetic poison. It is formed at temperatures from 250 to 800°C as a by-product of many technological processes using chlorine and carbon. The largest amounts of dioxins are emitted by metallurgical and paper mills, many chemical plants, pesticide factories and all waste incinerators.

It is dangerous not only for its high toxicity, but also for its ability to persist in the environment for an extremely long time, to be effectively transported through food chains and thereby have a long-term effect on living organisms. In addition, even in relatively harmless quantities, dioxin greatly increases the activity of specific liver enzymes that decompose certain substances of synthetic and natural origin; At the same time, dangerous poisons are released as a by-product of decay. At low concentrations, the body has time to remove them without harm to itself. But even small doses of dioxin dramatically increase the release of toxic substances. This can lead to poisoning by relatively harmless compounds that are always present in small concentrations in food, water and air - pesticides, household chemicals and even medications.

Data from recent years have shown that the main danger of dioxins lies not so much in acute toxicity, but in the cumulative effects and long-term consequences of chronic poisoning with small doses.

They accumulate in the tissues (mainly fat) of living organisms, accumulating and rising up the food chain. At the very top of this chain is man, and about 90% of dioxins come to him through animal food. Once dioxin enters the human body, it remains there forever and begins its long-term harmful effects.

The reason for the toxicity of dioxins lies in the ability of these substances to precisely fit into the receptors of living organisms and suppress or alter their vital functions.

About 90–95% of dioxins enter the human body through consumption of contaminated food (mainly animal) and water through the gastrointestinal tract, the remaining 5–10% with air and dust through the lungs and skin. Once in the body, these substances circulate in the blood and are deposited in adipose tissue and lipids without excluding all cells of the body.

Dioxins They are poorly soluble in water and slightly better in organic solvents, so these substances are extremely chemically stable compounds. Dioxins practically do not decompose in the environment for tens or even hundreds of years, remaining unchanged under the influence of physical, chemical and biological environmental factors.

A 1998 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that American adults who only consume dioxins in their diet, mainly meat, fish and dairy products, already carry an average dose of dioxin close to the critical (disease-causing) dose. It is estimated at 13 nanograms of dioxins per kilogram of body weight (ng/kg; nanogram is a billionth of a gram; ng/kg is one part by weight per trillion). It would seem that 13 ng/kg is a completely minuscule value, and in absolute terms it is so. However, compared with the amounts that cause serious disturbances in the body, 13 ng/kg is a serious threat to health. At the same time, 5% of Americans (2.5 million people) carry a dioxin load twice the average.

In the body of warm-blooded animals, dioxins initially enter the adipose tissue, and then are redistributed, accumulating mainly in the liver, less in the thymus (endocrine gland) and other organs, and are excreted with great difficulty.

The effect of dioxins on humans is due to their influence on the receptors of cells responsible for the functioning of hormonal systems. In this case, endocrine and hormonal disorders occur, the content of sex hormones, thyroid and pancreatic hormones changes, which increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, and the processes of puberty and fetal development are disrupted. Children are lagging behind in development, their education is hampered, and young people develop diseases characteristic of old age. In general, the likelihood of infertility, spontaneous abortion, congenital defects and other anomalies increases. The immune response also changes, which means the body’s susceptibility to infections increases, and the frequency of allergic reactions and cancer increases.

In acute dioxin poisoning, loss of appetite, weakness, chronic fatigue, depression, and catastrophic weight loss are observed. Death can occur within a few days or even several tens of days, depending on the dose of poison and the speed of its entry into the body. True, all this occurs at a dioxin load of 96 to 3000 ng/kg - 7 times higher than that of the average US resident. A decrease in the level of testosterone and other sex hormones was found in the blood of male workers exposed to dioxin. What is especially alarming is that these people had a dioxin load that was only 1.3 times the average.

Consequences of dioxin entering the body. Molecular mechanism of dioxin action. Easily soluble in fats, dioxin easily penetrates cells through the cytoplasmic membrane. There it accumulates in lipids or binds to various molecular structures of the cell. The resulting complexes are introduced into DNA chains, thereby activating a whole cascade of reactions leading to metabolic disorders, the functioning of the nervous system, causing hormonal disorders, changes in the skin, and obesity. The most severe consequences are caused by activation of the cytochrome P4501A1 gene, an enzyme that indirectly contributes to genetic mutations of cells and the development of cancer. Due to the high stability of the dioxin molecule, the process of gene activation can continue for a very long time, causing irreparable harm to the body.

Dioxin enters the body primarily through food. We get 95–97% of dioxin from meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. Dioxin accumulates especially strongly in fish. This is due to the fact that TCDD is a hydrophobic substance and is “afraid” of water. Once in the aquatic environment, dioxin strives to leave it in every possible way - for example, penetrating the organisms of the inhabitants of water bodies. As a result, the dioxin content in fish can be hundreds of thousands of times higher than its content in the environment. Residents of Sweden and Finland receive 63% of dioxins and 42% of furans through fish products.

Without having a genotoxic effect, dioxins do not directly affect the genetic material of organism cells. However, they are especially effective in affecting the gene pool of aerobic populations, since it is they who destroy the general mechanism of protecting the gene pool from environmental influences. Environmental conditions can dramatically increase mutagenic, embryotoxic and teratogenic effects.

Another genetic impact is that dioxins destroy the mechanism of adaptation of aerobic organisms to the external environment. As a result, their sensitivity to various types of stress and to numerous chemicals that are constant companions of organisms in modern civilization increases. The latter aspect is practically two-way: dioxin synergists enhance their own toxic effect, and dioxins, in turn, provoke the toxicity of a number of non-toxic substances. The social consequence of this and previous features of dioxin intoxication is a consistent and uncontrollable deterioration in the genetic health of the affected populations.

The toxic effect of dioxins is characterized by a long period of latent action. In addition, the signs of dioxin intoxication are very diverse and are largely determined, at first glance, by their totality, as well as by the body’s burdened predisposition to a particular disease.

Most likely, no one will be able to completely avoid contact with dioxins. The general pollution of the environment and food does not leave anyone such a chance. However, it is still possible to reduce the intake of toxic substances into the body. By observing a certain “hygiene” there is hope to obtain smaller doses of dioxin.

First of all, you should try to reduce the risk of dioxin entering the body. To do this, you need to lead a healthy lifestyle, eat organic, mainly plant-based (plants accumulate less dioxins than animals and fish), environmentally friendly food - grown on clean soils. Fatty fish varieties are especially dangerous; they often contain large amounts of toxic compounds in their fat. This is also due to anthropogenic pollution, and therefore even expensive red fish may contain dioxins.

You can completely switch predominantly to plant foods - they contain much less dioxins, because there are almost no fats in plants. Other methods of cooking meat - frying, baking in the oven - do not decompose dioxin; steamers, microwave ovens, and pressure cookers will not help with this either.

For the same reason, you should not buy euro products coming to the Russian market, where fat, eggs and even milk can be added - mayonnaise, pasta, bouillon cubes, ready-made soups, cakes, ice cream, etc.

You should only drink purified water, and never drink boiled chlorinated water (dioxins can be formed when chlorinated water boils). When boiling chlorinated water, organic compounds react with chlorine (more than 240 compounds are found in tap water in megacities) and form organochlorine compounds, such as trichloromethane and dioxin (when phenol gets into the water, it forms dioxin). Many countries have already abandoned water disinfection by chlorination.

You can purify water with filters for water purification, but you need to change the cartridges in it often so that instead of purified water you do not get a mass of bacteria from a contaminated filter. Today there is such a modern material - activated carbon fibers, which are superior in cleaning quality to activated carbon. Fibers are able to absorb heavy metal ions and suppress the activity of bacteria.

Also, shungite, no worse than activated carbon, has the ability to purify water from many organic substances - including heavy metals

Thanks to a crystal lattice organized in a special way, which is based on carbon, shungite has the ability to purify water and saturate it with a specific mineral composition, giving it unique healing qualities.

Dioxins Polychlorinated polycyclic compounds resulting from anthropogenic activities.

About 90-95% of dioxins enter the human body through consumption of contaminated food (mainly animal) and water through the gastrointestinal tract, the remaining 5-10% - with air and dust through the lungs and skin. Once in the body, these substances circulate in the blood and are deposited in adipose tissue and lipids without excluding all cells of the body.

These are solid, colorless crystalline substances, chemically inert and thermally stable (they decompose when heated above 750 C). The dioxin family (polychlorodibenzoparadioxins (PCDCs), polychlorodibenzodifurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated dibiphenyls (PCDFs)) includes hundreds of organochlorine, organobromine, and mixed organobromine cyclic ethers, of which 17 are the most toxic.

Dioxin formation

Sources of dioxins are enterprises in almost all industries that use chlorine, but the most dangerous are chemical, petrochemical and pulp and paper plants. Incineration plants that destroy chlorinated waste are today one of the main sources of emissions of dioxin compounds into the atmosphere.

Dioxins are formed only due to human activities. Dioxins are by-products of the production of plastics, pesticides, herbicides, metals, paper, and defoliants. Dioxins are formed when burning waste in incinerators (in case of violation of the rules for the disposal of industrial waste), in city landfills, when burning synthetic motor oil, coatings and gasoline, etc. Water chlorination is also a significant source of dioxins.

When burning one kilogram of PVC, up to 50 micrograms of dioxins are formed. Their effective destruction is possible only at temperatures above 1150-1200 degrees Celsius.

In the biosphere, dioxins are sorbed by the soil (accumulating in its upper layer). From there they are quickly absorbed by plants and soil organisms. Then they enter the human body with vegetables and fruits, as well as through birds and animals. A special feature of dioxins is their ability to bioaccumulate. With each intermediate link, the concentration of dioxins increases.

Harm

Dioxin poisoning

Dioxins cause a number of serious diseases, including the formation of malignant tumors, decreased immunity, decreased levels of male hormones, diabetes, impotence, endometritis, learning disabilities, and mental disorders.

The main danger of dioxin is its effect on the most important systems of the body - endocrine, immune, cardiovascular. Children, the weak, the sick and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

Dioxins have acute and chronic toxicity; the period of their latent action can be quite long (from 10 days to several weeks, and sometimes several years).

Dioxin is a type of poison that accumulates in the cells and tissues of the body. Therefore, each subsequent portion of it is absorbed faster by the body, causing increasingly stronger toxic effects. When ingested by humans or animals, dioxins accumulate in fatty tissues and decompose extremely slowly (over decades) and are eliminated from the body (the half-life from the human body is up to 30 years). Dioxins are many times more toxic than sodium cyanide, strychnine, and curare poison.

Even in minute concentrations, dioxin causes genetic changes in the cells of affected individuals, causing chronic intoxication and increasing the incidence of tumors, i.e. has mutagenic and carcinogenic effects.

Signs of dioxin poisoning are:

Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Development of skin diseases
Acute depression
Drowsiness
Nervous system dysfunctions
Metabolic dysfunctions
Changes in blood composition

The effect of dioxins on the human body

Many of the dioxins are strong carcinogens and teratogens. Once in the body, dioxins act at the molecular level, suppressing the immune system and grossly interfering with the processes of cell division and specialization, they provoke the development of cancer. Main action dioxins on humans is due to their influence on the receptors of cells responsible for the functioning of hormonal systems. Dioxins interfere with the complex, well-functioning functioning of the endocrine glands, “masquerading” as natural hormones, but, not being such, they disrupt the normal functioning of the entire body system - regulating its metabolism, reproduction, growth, development.

As a result, hormonal and endocrine disorders arise - the content of sex hormones, thyroid and pancreatic hormones changes, this increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, and the processes of puberty and fetal development are disrupted. Children are lagging behind in development, their education is hampered, and young people develop diseases characteristic of old age.

Dioxins interfere with reproductive function, dramatically slowing down puberty, increasing the likelihood of infertility, spontaneous abortion, birth defects and other anomalies.

Women very often experience menstrual irregularities, and in the worst case, reproductive function is disrupted. In this case, there are practically no acute reactions (as with ordinary poisoning).

Dioxins cause profound disturbances in almost all metabolic processes, suppressing the functioning of the immune system, causing immunodeficiency, increasing the body's susceptibility to infections, and increasing the frequency of allergic reactions - leading to a state of so-called “chemical AIDS.” Research has confirmed that dioxins cause genetic mutations (deformities) and congenital malformations in children.

Being a powerful mutagen, developing organisms - embryos, fetuses, newborns, and young individuals - are especially sensitive to dioxin. This poison is especially dangerous due to its long period of latent action. Signs of dioxin damage are very difficult to determine - they depend on the dose, age characteristics of the body and its condition.

Dioxin compounds accumulate in the bodies of expectant mothers and in breast milk, damaging the sexual functions of unborn children and destroying the immune system. Dioxins are transmitted to the fetus and child through the placenta and breast milk. During breastfeeding, the mother loses up to 40% of all dioxins (accumulated in a woman’s body throughout her life) that were in her fatty tissues (since dioxins easily bind to fats - they are lipophilic).

Benefit

Dioxins have no beneficial properties.

Properties of dioxin

Until dioxin accumulates in a certain amount, its effect on the body is very difficult to notice. But when the threshold dose of this poison is exceeded, a disease develops. After all, dioxin is considered the most toxic of all known poisons precisely because of its cumulative effect.

The lethal dose for these toxic substances reaches 10-6 g per 1 kg of live weight, which is significantly higher than the same value even for some chemical warfare agents, for example, sarin, soman, tabun.

Dioxins are classified as xenobiotics - they are substances foreign to living organisms. There are no maximum permissible concentrations for dioxins - they are toxic in any quantity, only the forms of manifestation of this toxicity will change. In small doses they cause a mutagenic effect and affect various enzyme systems of the body.

Moreover, dioxins are characterized by a synergistic effect - it enhances the effect of toxic substances. And if some other carcinogen enters the body, then in the presence of dioxin the likelihood of cancer will increase many times over.

Dioxin is synergistic to the effects of such toxicants as:

Lead salts
Cadmium
Mercury
Nitrates
Sulfides
Chlorophenols
Radiation

Dioxins in the environment

Dioxins in food

You cannot fish near pulp and paper mills or near waste incinerators. You cannot buy it in these areas from your own hands (without the appropriate documents). Fatty fish varieties are especially dangerous; they often contain large amounts of toxic compounds in their fat. This is also due to anthropogenic pollution, and therefore even expensive red fish may contain dioxins.

You can completely switch predominantly to plant foods - they contain much less dioxins, because there are almost no fats in plants.

Today you should not eat dangerous imported products - pork, beef, eggs, European poultry, but if this still happens, then before cooking the bird you need to free it from skin and fat, and also remove all the bones from the carcass - they are places of concentration dioxin. It is best not to consume the broth, since boiling does not destroy the toxic substance.

Other methods of cooking meat - frying, baking in the oven - do not decompose dioxin; steamers, microwave ovens, and pressure cookers will not help with this either.

Dioxins in household waste

It is mandatory for everyone to refrain from burning polymer materials, household waste and especially urban leaves. Leaves are colossal filters - they absorb all heavy metals. While cleaning the air from pollution, trees accumulate toxic substances in the crown, mainly from transport, as well as from soil and water.

When trees are burned from environmentally polluted places, harmful substances are transferred into an aerosol state - the following are released into the air:

Dioxins
Carbon monoxide
Sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen oxides
Benz-a-pyrene
Hydrocarbons

How to reduce the amount of toxins in the body

We consume more than 15 kg of air per day. Many donor plants (such as palm trees, ivy, ferns, ficuses, etc.) clean the air of toxic impurities.

Today, one of the most effective and fairly economical methods of purifying indoor air from organic and some inorganic environmental pollutants is the photocatalytic oxidation method.

A photocatalytic air purifier destroys toxic impurities - dioxin, phenol, formaldehyde, ammonia, ozone, hydrogen sulfide, etc. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation in the presence of a photocatalyst, harmful impurities are decomposed into harmless air components - carbon dioxide and water.

Also, shungite, no worse than activated carbon, has the ability to purify water from many organic substances, including heavy metals:

Colloidal iron water pipes
Dioxins
Nitrates
Nitrites
Pesticides
Phenols
Organochlorine compounds
Petroleum products
Radionuclides
Helminth eggs
Viruses
Bacteria

Dioxin is a generalized definition of highly toxic chemicals containing chlorine, of man-made origin. Dioxins and dioxin-like substances are polychlorinated derivatives. A man-made invention of humanity that poisons man himself, all living organisms on earth, and the biosphere. Ecotoxicants, a powerful cumulative poison (having the ability to accumulate), an extremely dangerous xenobiotic.

Dioxin is a toxic man-made substance

A substance of organic chemistry, with a stable structure, containing chlorine, which has a harmful effect on living organisms. Found in water, air, and food. Even a small amount of dioxin entering the human body has a toxic effect.

Effect of dioxins

The penetration of dioxins has a damaging effect on all vital areas of human health. It detrimentally reduces immunity, in critical cases, to the level of “chemical AIDS”, suppresses the endocrine system, has a destructive effect on the reproductive sphere in men and women, demonstrates the property of catalyzing cancer, has effects on embryonic development, and leads to deformities and pathologies.

Their poisonous influence knows no thresholds or protection; nature did not foresee that man would create this poison in such quantities with his own hands. They enter the human body through the gastrointestinal tract, being in water and food in 90% of cases, 10% receive them through the respiratory tract and skin from air poisoned with dioxin poison.

Nature of origin of dioxins

Dioxins are formed in different ways. The catalyst is high temperatures, which influence the process of formation of toxic substances. They are produced as a by-product by the chemical industry, producing polyethylene, plastics, plastics, so often used in the modern world.

Dioxin is a by-product of the chemical industry

By producing paper, fertilizers, and other chemical industry products containing chlorine, potential producers of powerful poisons daily release them from the crucible of their pipes into the water and into the atmosphere. Treatment facilities cannot cope with toxic substances; their half-life occurs on average 10 years. It enters wastewater and air and travels along a chain into living organisms.

People living and working at oil refineries, waste incineration plants and near similar industrial monsters are at risk.

Their lives are in danger, due to the ability of the poison to accumulate, symptoms of diseases are observed, the cause of which is poisoning by industrial by-products. By definition, it is almost impossible to remove poison from the body; it penetrates the structure of cells, changing them, affecting the body.

It is transmitted through the placental barrier and through mother's milk. They are eliminated from the body slowly, over 7-10 years. There have been several well-known man-made environmental disasters where people were injured due to the powerful release of dioxin into the atmosphere.

Ways of human poisoning

A person eats, drinks, breathes. If dioxin is present, it receives poison in food, toxic effects from water and air. Dioxins most often penetrate into the following food products:
leafy vegetables;
dairy products;
fat-containing products;
chicken eggs;
chlorinated water.

It is impossible to completely protect yourself from exposure to dioxin.

There is no way to completely protect yourself from the effects of poison, but we can reduce the intake of chlorine by using tap water through a filter or buying bottled water. Try to buy certified food products or from environmentally friendly areas. Use less plastic containers to store food.

Buy meat, poultry and fish in places where there are no chemical production facilities nearby, get rid of fat from poultry and meat, it contains the highest concentration of poison. Do not use chemical fertilizers in summer cottages, grow environmentally friendly products. Wash food well. What else depends on the person himself? Besides protecting yourself, don't harm others. Sort your garbage, do not burn plastic bottles, plastic cans, or old furniture. Don't forget about the combustion properties of chlorine. It is dangerous to burn leaves in the fall that have accumulated heavy metals and exhaust gases in the city.

Risk factors

People who live near or work at industrial enterprises responsible for the distribution of dioxin are most susceptible to the toxic effects of poison. In the affected areas there is a sharp increase in oncological diseases; dioxin tends to accelerate the development of tumors and the birth of children with pathologies. People suffer from decreased immunity. Dioxin poisoning is accompanied by the following symptoms:

skin manifestations, if exposed to a toxic dose - chloracne;
blockage of the ducts of the sebaceous glands, with bright skin manifestations that are difficult to treat;
The gastrointestinal tract and nervous system are affected, and weight loss is observed.

Acute poisoning is possible due to emissions or industrial accidents

In acute poisoning there are no pronounced, distinctive symptoms. They can only be combined with emissions or industrial accidents where a large number of people are affected. Characteristic:

deterioration, weakness, dizziness;
itching, redness of the skin, purulent lesions, chloracne;
blurred vision;
drowsiness, irritability;
anorexia, weight loss.

First aid is to reduce the access of poison to the body, given its ability to accumulate. It is necessary to take the victim to a hospital and carry out detoxification and symptomatic treatment. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease, and no vaccine has been invented.

The problem is so global that it needs to be solved by the whole world. Having grown a consumer society, man, in an effort to make a profit, created a program of self-destruction. Both a businessman and an ordinary inhabitant of the planet. Close factories and deprive people of their jobs, livelihoods, and no way out. It is necessary to introduce new, environmentally friendly technologies and treatment facilities. Locate industrial complexes away from residential areas. Environmentalists are fighting, but money is everything, and people pay for it with their health.

In an effort to make a profit, a person creates a program of slow self-destruction

It is at the level of each person and within his power to try to sort garbage by recycling plastic. Do not use chlorine in everyday life, do not boil chlorinated water, and eat “healthy foods.” Now in medicine, disinfectants containing chlorine and its components are limited. A few words about the erroneous uses of dioxin. Parents often confuse the drug “Dioxidin” with dioxin, due to the similarity of names; dioxidin is an antibacterial medicine that does not contain this poison.

It is used in purulent surgery and prescribed to children as nasal drops. From the abstract: “A broad-spectrum antibacterial drug from the group of quinoxaline derivatives.” Synonym for "Dixin". There is no chlorine or dioxin in its composition. Another confusion, a new vaccination, a replacement for the Mantoux test, for diagnosing tuberculosis. The new drug is called “Diaskin test”, mothers, having heard something new, search on the Internet and mistakenly write “dioxin test”, the drug has nothing to do with the terrible poison.

What's happened ?
Why is it dangerous?

Dioxin poisoning is one of the most serious dangers facing humans. The dangers are hidden and little known to most, but are easy to encounter, and the impact of dioxin on the human body is such that it can lead to fatal consequences.

Dioxins and their effect on the human body

But before we talk about what the symptoms of dioxin poisoning look like, let's find out what these substances are and how they affect us. Under this name lies a whole group of chemical compounds that appear as a result of the combustion of substances, part of which are chlorine and bromine. We are talking in particular about various plastics and other similar materials, the appearance of which we owe to the development of organic chemistry.

Dioxins are odorless and tasteless and do not dissolve in water. These solid compounds have a strong cumulative effect, that is, they can accumulate in the human body for literally years. It's all about the long half-life, ranging from 7 to 11 years.

Dioxins are a dangerous poison

There are several ways for these dangerous substances to enter our body. Firstly, it is dangerous to live next to enterprises producing fertilizers, paper, plastics, polyethylene and their processing. It is not for nothing that there is always an increased level of morbidity near such industries.

But just because there isn't a plant near you doesn't mean you're completely safe. Dioxins can be formed when boiling chlorinated water, they can be transported hundreds of kilometers through the air, and they can accumulate in the fatty tissues of the animals we eat.

In general, the general properties of dioxins are clear - they decompose slowly and, due to this, easily accumulate in fatty tissues. The lack of smell and taste does not allow us to determine how often and in what quantities they enter the body.

But what specific danger does this accumulation pose? What consequences can cause the constant consumption of these substances?

For a fatal outcome, a person does not need any huge doses - ten to the minus sixth power per kilogram of weight is enough. But, thank God, it almost never accumulates in such quantities. But dioxin may be enough to cause poisoning, because its presence in minute quantities contributes to:
development of cancer;
decreased immunity;

disruption of receptor activity.

Sources of dioxins entering the body

One of the most important problems associated with dioxin poisoning is the length of time it takes for symptoms to appear. Symptoms of poisoning are often easily confused with symptoms of other diseases. Although, there are specific signs. For example, the most important symptom of mild poisoning is the appearance of “chloracne,” which is the result of transformation of sebaceous gland cells. These symptoms were particularly observed in victims of the Vietnam War.

In general, symptoms of poisoning in people look like this:

During the prodromal period, which lasts no more than 4 days, a person is primarily concerned about a slightly noticeable weakness, accompanied by mild dizziness and occasional nausea. Such sensations may suggest an acute respiratory viral disease.
Redness of the skin appears along with itching, especially if substances get on the surface of the skin;
Later, vision begins to deteriorate, headaches become almost constant, and when observing the general condition, no signs of improvement are noticeable.
Deterioration of the endocrine system leads to loss of appetite, a person can lose up to a third of body weight;
Damage to the nervous system is accompanied by increased irritability and drowsiness.
The level of regenerative processes noticeably decreases, which is one of the reasons leading to problems with healing even the slightest wounds.
If the body is simultaneously poisoned by other toxins, then dioxin increases the strength of their effects and, accordingly, the symptoms associated with poisoning with them.

Specifics of dioxin poisoning

As you can easily notice in the list there are many nonspecific signs that individually can indicate a variety of diseases. But taken together they paint a pretty clear picture.

Help for dioxin poisoning

The peculiarity of providing first aid for dioxin poisoning is associated with the above-mentioned features of its diagnosis. Often, even tests at the very first stage will not help determine the cause, especially since a person without special equipment cannot do this. If you find something similar to the above symptoms, this does not mean that the cause is dioxin. But you can provide some first aid:

rinse the victim’s stomach;
provide him with access to oxygen;
call a doctor or take him to the hospital.

The last point is especially important, since this type of poisoning cannot be cured at home. A delay in providing qualified medical care can make a person disabled for life, and can lead to death. In hospital, the initial treatment is usually with drugs that relieve symptoms, such as digoxin. They also prescribe therapy and a plasma replacement agent. Further assistance is provided after receiving the results of comprehensive tests.

Dioxin - the hidden danger

How to remove dioxins from the body?

Despite the fact that the danger of dioxin accumulation in the body is very high for modern people, this does not mean that poisoning is inevitable. There are various ways to remove dioxin from the body, which is the best prevention. Dioxins are eliminated as slowly as they slowly accumulate, but if you follow certain rules, you have every chance of preventing your body from becoming infected.

Thus, dioxins are eliminated by drinking high-quality water without chlorine. Therefore, it is useful to have good filters or purchase water from artesian wells or at least simply purified water. Also, you should not eat fish caught in reservoirs located in polluted areas, near factories and cities. This applies to eating wild animal meat and non-certified products in general.

One of the main sources of dioxins are plastics and polyethylene. You should avoid burning them near you or your place of residence. And in general, you should refuse to independently dispose of any chemical industry products.

The small number of laboratories, of course, makes it very difficult to determine the presence of such dangerous compounds in the food and water that we consume, in the air that we breathe. Therefore, one has to rely entirely on various precautions. At the same time, proper incineration of hazardous waste would also help significantly, since the compounds are destroyed at temperatures above 900 degrees.

How to protect yourself from dioxins?

Health implications

The long-term effect of dioxin poisoning on the human body manifests itself primarily in various pathologies, even if everything has been eliminated. In particular, it is the cause of the already mentioned cancer. Pathological changes in the skin also fall into the category of typical long-term effects of exposure to the substance.

The fetus is especially vulnerable during intrauterine development: premature birth, serious illnesses - all these are typical consequences. Newborn babies are also very vulnerable and the effects of exposure can last a lifetime.

Dioxins can be considered one of the most dangerous enemies of humans in our time. On the other hand, their presence is an inevitable consequence of the development of civilization. We cannot completely eliminate plastic, water disinfection with chlorine, or fertilizers. But we may well approach all this carefully enough to avoid fatal consequences.

Video

Watch a very useful and educational film about the dangers of dioxins.