A discussion topic from someone with too much time on their hands.

[Guest guest]

Folks,

I recently became aware of a bit of information that I wanted to

pass on and see if anyone else has had experience with.

Let me start be saying I have no problem with `home remedies' as a

whole and if they work, great. That is as long as they don't pose a

significant risk in their use or miss-use. I also am under no

illusions as to how much I know so please weigh in on this.

I recently had to deal with the old (1988) World Health Organization

Scales for medical supplies and found an unusual

requirement, `Potassium permanganate 100g x 2 For external use'.

Having never heard of this I did a little research and learned a few

things. This is a potent oxidizer, medicinally used as a topical

antiseptic solution for `Wet dressings or baths, approx. 0.01%

solution. (Per BNF issue 51). It appears it is normally supplied as

a 1% solution for dilution or as 400 mg tablets to be dissolved in 4

liters of water to provide the requisite 0.01%. I have aboard 25g

bottles of crystals.

The same `W.H.O. International Medical Guide for Ships'(1988) says

this about it:

`Use: Diluted in water (1g of crystals in 0.5-1 litre of water).

This substance is used for the disinfection of skin and mucous

membranes and for the treatment of some skin disease.

Caution: The substance (or any highly concentrated dilution of it)

is very toxic if ingested.'

I could find very few references to the use of this anywhere else. I

would tend to believe it has gone out of vogue with the advent of

antiseptics such as Chlorhexidine. I did find references to past

illegal use to cause chemical abortions and treatment of ingestion

but the source is questionable.

I did find several references to the violently exothermic reaction

when mixed with glucose. In fact one chemistry web site demonstrates

using Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) to initiate a thermite

reaction. It is also included in some survival kits as a fire

starter.

Ok, that's background and nice to know stuff. The reason I bring it

up is that in conversation with my Ukrainian Captain and Chief

Officer, this is a commonly used substance `back home' where it is

known as (pardon my guess at the spelling here) `Margonate'. It is

used when one has a severe upset stomach, especially if the cause is

thought to be ingestion. They tell me that `a couple' crystals are

mixer with 2 litres of water to a `light pink' color. This substance

is then ingested and the patient then forces themselves to vomit it

back up. In fact when the CO began to develop symptoms aboard that

were later diagnosed as appendicitis, he treated himself by this

method (no medic on board).

Their does appear to be some precedent for this though I would have

to assume in the medical community it is done in a bit more

controlled manor.

I bring this up because `Margonate' is easy to obtain and seems to

be very accepted by the Ukrainian crewmembers I have spoken to. It

is therefore very conceivable that crewmembers could bring this

aboard themselves and self-medicate with it.

Overdose may present with sever nausea/vomiting, staining (red-

black) of tissue with swelling and corrosion of areas that have come

into contact with the solution. KMnO4 can also cause ulcerations

from contact with the undiluted substance. This is most significant

in relation to the airway.

Here ar a couple links with info.

http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/chemical/pim409.htm

http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/poiso024.html

I know the chances of this are slim, just thought I'd bring it up

and see if anyone else has experiance with this stuff.