In article <3ks63b$6so at newsbf02.news.aol.com>,
JohnnyDax1 <johnnydax1 at aol.com> wrote:
>I read somewhere that one antidote for nerve gas, including Sarin, was an
>injection of Atropine Sulfate. Isn't Atropine Sulfate used in some
>non-prescription medications such as back pills? What are the dosage
>differences? I know it's probably silly, but could a person exposed to a
>nerve agent scarf a bottle of back pills and have a better chance of
>survival?
No. The pills do not act quickly enough. Atropine sulphate is the
military general purpose anti-nerve agent medication because most
nerve gases affect the cholinergic synapses in the PNS (hence either
convulsions or respiratory arrest). Unfortuneately, atropine sulphate
is not the safest medication in the world, and I doubt that you could
find an effective dose in any non-perscription medication. In any
event an injection would be the preferable method of delivery for this
particular application (or perhaps delivery via inhalation). The
military in Canada use atropine styrettes, which are similar to epi-pens.
