Since the vast spread of laser fever in my country, many families have been looking for ways to eliminate rats from their homes. Rats are highly destructive, the level of damage they do to the items in the home can get one frustrated, so families go out of their way to do things to get rats out of their homes.
Rat poison has become a household thing in most homes, and as much as these poisons have helped to destroy rats, it has also affected some households. If you are unfamiliar with what rat poisons are, let me just say something about it. Rat poisons are usually mixed with locally prepared compounds and are used for the eradication of rodents.
These poisons are very harmful to rodents, but when humans accidentally consume these poisons, it is always highly dangerous as well. Rat poison causes organ failure, coma, bleeding, and paralysis. Most of the active ingredients in rat poison contain; blood thinning, neurotoxic, and other harmful and highly terrible health effects. Some of the ingredients and mixtures applied are highly harmful, and that's why humans are always advised to handle them with extreme care.
When humans get poisoned by rodents, the signs may not be visible for up to five days, but when the symptoms begin to show, it comes in the form of; chills, bleeding from the nose, skin, or gum, extreme dehydration, headache, internal bleeding, pain, seizures, lightheadedness, convulsions, stomach upset, and shortness of breath.
While the above are general symptoms that accompany the ingestion of rodents, the uniqueness of each symptom is accompanied by the type of rodenticide ingested and what it contains. Not all rat poisons are dangerous on the same level, some are more dangerous than others depending on their chemical make-up.
Thallium: This is a tasteless, odorless powder that is absorbed through skin inhalation. Acute exposure causes; hyperpigmentation, acute gastroenteritis that starts to develop within 48 hours, alopecia that doesn't affect the inner third of eyebrows and axilla, and carnial nerve dysfunction.
Sodium Monofluoroacetate (SMFA): This is a tasteless, odorless powder. Early symptoms are; hypocalcemia, seizures, dysrhythmias, and shock refractory. If the situation isn't handled on time, late complications will lead to; Hepatic dysfunction, kidney injury, and cerebral or cerebellar atrophy.
Strychnine. These are a few amongst several other chemicals that are mixed with rat poison and the strong effect they can have on humans.
The complications attached to the ingestion of rat poison are very serious and could cause damage to the brain, kidney, and liver, it could even lead to coma and eventual death.
Several questions have been asked about how much rat poison is needed to kill a person, but there is no clear way to answer the question because there are several factors to be considered; age, body weight, genetics, and so on.
Other available options can be used in place of rat poison to get rid of rodents from the home, but if you insist on using the poison, then please apply special caution to its usage. Wear protective gloves and a mask before using it, also most importantly, keep it far away from children especially young ones who could accidentally put it in their mouth.
