I sure hope that Israelis are being taught how to protect themselves, and that the atropine is being stocked by first responders, to avoid waste.
Praying for the peace of Jerusalem!
Posted on 08/29/2013 7:54:34 AM PDT by Former Fetus
Recent days saw the Hadar Mall in Jerusalem packed to the gills with Israeli civilians waiting to receive gas masks from the IDF’s Home Front Command. But no lines and no gas masks greeted this reporter Wednesday afternoon, only a sign directing Jerusalem residents to call 104, the Home Front Command’s 24-hour hotline.
The number was unavailable most of the day. For the lucky callers who got through, waiting times topped 40 minutes. Only late in the evening did I manage to get through to someone, who informed me that the Jerusalem distribution point was temporarily closed because it “was a balagan,” a Hebrew term for the kind of chaos that ensues when much of the country appears to be rushing at the same time to get some protection from potential Syrian missile strikes.
In May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a $350 million initiative to equip every Israeli with a gas mask, but as of this week there were only enough to service 60% of the population, Labor MK Nahman Shai said, trumpeting his pet cause. Israeli officials said the shortfall was a “question of budget.”
That same budgetary issue may be responsible for cutbacks on a crucial item that is missing from the kits being distributed: injectors with the antidote to sarin and other nerve gas poisoning.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesofisrael.com ...
I sure hope that Israelis are being taught how to protect themselves, and that the atropine is being stocked by first responders, to avoid waste.
Praying for the peace of Jerusalem!
I’d ask Milo Minderbinder where the atropine went.
Can civilians buy atropine kits like I used in the military? Mk 1 NAAK if I remember correctly.
I’d like to have some if they have a decent shelf life.
Interesting. I was not aware that atropine was effective against sarin? If so, that’s good to know...
Interesting. I was not aware that atropine was effective against sarin? If so, that’s good to know...
IS only Atropine or are there herbal remedies that a prepper can buy?
Another good question, too...
Technical notes: typically auto-injector antidotes for nerve agents contain two ingredients, atropine and Pralidoxime, typically called 2-PAM chloride.
When neurons in the brain signal for muscle contraction, there is a gap between the neuron and the nerve called the synapse. Instead of an electrical charge crossing the gap, the neuron sends a tiny amount of a chemical across the gap. When it is received by the nerve, the nerve generates a given amount of electrical charge down the nerve to the muscle.
After a short length of time, a second chemical binds with the first chemical in the nerve, and the electrical signal is turned off. Then the two chemicals both cross the synapse again returning the first chemical to the neuron. They then break apart, and the second chemical returns to the nerve.
Nerve agent binds with the second chemical. So when the first chemical crosses over, an electrical signal is sent, and *continues* to be sent. Eventually more and more of the first chemical is sent to the nerve, which sends out more and more electricity, making the muscle continue to contract. If this happens too much in too many muscles, you in effect “contract yourself to death.”
Nerve agent antidote atropine shuts down the other side of the circuit, binding with the first chemical, so the nervous system just chills out. 2-PAM chloride binds with the nerve agent, so it can’t bind with the first chemical.
So if you get a big dose of nerve agent, the theory is that the atropine will significantly slow down the system, while the 2-PAM neutralizes and helps eliminate the nerve agent from your system. In practice this can mean putting a victim into a coma for about two weeks.
None if it feels good. And some effects can be permanent.
However, if the nerve agent has been reformulated so these antidotes are no longer effective, then it is a whole new ball of wax.
One last note, Sarin nerve agent is regarded as volatile, evaporating and dissipating quickly, behaving somewhat like water. V-series nerve agents are more like oil, and are used to contaminate an area, which stays contaminated for a long time. Mustard and Blister agents are also persistent, and particularly nasty.
I agree, but you must take it with the author of the article. I imagine he was trying to use terms that people would understand.
Well, it’s safer than nightshade or Angel’s Trumpet.
CORRECT. Atropine will kill you. The military kits we practiced with was 2 drugs....in 2 separate syringes.
Basically, the atropine stops the nerve gas from locking up your lungs....
and the second drug keeps the aptropine from killing you.
“IS only Atropine or are there herbal remedies that a prepper can buy?”
There are several plants that contain atropine...but with lots of other chemicals, too, many of which are more toxic than atropine.
I don’t think that an herbal tea with, say, belladonna would be fast enough to do any good if you got dosed with nerve agent. Possibly smoking it like the old Astmador cigarettes, but even that is a stretch.
I doubt there is any clinical data or military research papers on folk remedies for nerve agent toxicity!
Looks like the antidote for Sarin is atropine:
http://www.meridianmeds.com/products-overview-antidote.aspx
And it requirers a prescription.
Here is some information on Sarin from the CDC:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sarin/basics/facts.asp
“And it requirers a prescription.”
ha ha ha I look forward to the look on my MD’s face when I ask for a scrip for the kit!
Drug shortage?
Yes and no. Yes atropine can help. It’s not an antidote, and you need huge doses if you get a significant exposure. The dose is 2-6,mg every 2 to 5 minutes. One organophosphate poisoning will exhaust an entire hospital supply of atropine ( been there).
In reality you get the atropine to try and keep you alive till you get the 2 Pam Chloride
Atropine, then 2-pam Chloride.
Just like in Basic Training. Nothing changes, does it?
If Atropine isn’t effective then why are they all in a tizzy having used it up on the chemical attack last week in Syria? The hospital staff were using it on the victims and themselves. Now they’ve run out and are saying there is no other antidote. If you have it, use it immediately because after a couple hours it’s too late. If you don’t have it, then put your hopes and dreams on the naysayers who changed their story only after the manufacturer ran out. The US claims to have it stockpiled but I don’t see it getting to the people quickly enough.
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