Table of contents:
- What is sarin?
- How does sarin attack the body?
- Immediate signs and symptoms of sarin exposure during chemical gas attack
- How to deal with emergencies to deal with chemical gas attacks
More than 80 people were killed (20 of them children) died and many more were injured in the alleged sarin chemical attack in north-western Syria in April 2017. Sarin is a man-made nerve agent that causes unbearable stinging pain.
What exactly is sarin, what happens if your body is exposed to large amounts of sarin gas, and what is the emergency response - if you ever get caught in the same situation?
What is sarin?
Sarin is a man-made chemical warfare weapon which is classified as a neuroprotective agent. Nerve agents are the most toxic chemical weapons agents and cause rapid symptoms in just seconds.
Sarin is almost impossible to detect until it's too late. We don't even know it's there until our bodies react. This is because sarin is a colorless liquid, and does not have a decipherable smell and taste. However, sarin can quickly evaporate into vapor (gas) and spread to the environment.
Sarin was used in two terrorist attacks in Japan in 1994 and 1995, and then used again in the terrorist attack in the city of Damascus in 2013. This chemical was not originally intended as a weapon.
A chemist from Germany, Gerhard Schrader, in 1937 only intended to develop sarin as an insecticide. By Nazi scientists, sarin was later developed into a nerve gas weapon of war after learning of its potential dire effects on the human body.
How does sarin attack the body?
When used as a weapon, sarin is usually fired via a rocket or bullet which then bursts and sprays the liquid as an aerosol gas - millions of tiny droplets fine enough to inhale or rain on the skin and eyes. Think of mosquito spray, or when you are spraying perfume. The sarin will then evaporate into a gas which mixes with the surrounding air.
Sarin easily mixes with water. After the sarin is mixed into water, people can be exposed by touching or drinking water that contains sarin. They can also be exposed to sarin from food that has been contaminated with sarin. A person's clothing can release sarin after coming into contact with sarin vapors, which can spread the exposure to others.
Our nerves talk to each other by releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters. Nerve agents such as sarin work to change the function of these neurotransmitters. Once inside the body, sarin interferes with an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, a neurotransmitter that acts as the body's "switch" for nerve control glands and muscles. Without the "off switch," the glands and muscles continue to be brutally stimulated, telling them to do the things they normally do, but with a changing frequency. As a result, the body will work like a broken cassette - keep doing the same instructions over and over again.
Within a few seconds of exposure to sarin, smooth muscle control is then also inhibited. Smooth muscle is the tissue that makes sure organs like the stomach, intestines and bladder work effectively. As a result, there will be excessive tear production, followed by uncontrollable saliva, urine, feces, and vomiting. Vision is also blurred and breathing is severely restricted due to chest tightness.
If a person has been exposed to lethal amounts of sarin, the body will begin to have violent seizures and then become paralyzed. Some of the victims described it as like a bag of worms writhing under the skin. You get lots of little movement from all the muscles in your body. Then, after a minute or two, your muscles are paralyzed, and you can't operate the muscles needed to breathe.
Immediate signs and symptoms of sarin exposure during chemical gas attack
The first symptoms include confusion, drowsiness, and headaches; watery eyes, sore eyes, blurry vision, small pupils; cough, drool, runny nose, rapid breathing, chest tightness; victims described sarin gas as a "knife made of fire" that tore through their lungs; excessive sweating, muscle twitching at the site of the exposed body; nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, increased urination, diarrhea; to body weakness, blood pressure and abnormal heart rate.
Exposure to lethal doses can cause severe seizures to continue, loss of consciousness to coma, complete paralysis, and failure to breathe.
How to deal with emergencies to deal with chemical gas attacks
After directly inhaling the lethal dose, it can take as little as 60 seconds for the victim to die. Large-scale chemical attacks can kill within 10 minutes. Sarin doesn't always kill, but victims can suffer so badly that the effects wear off.
The CDC recommends leaving areas where sarin gas is present and seeking fresh air. They also recommend evacuating to a higher place, because the sarin gas sinks to the bottom. The CDC also says that victims of the sarin chemical gas attack should:
- Take off clothes quickly, tearing if necessary.
- To protect against further exposure, put contaminated clothing in a bag, then seal it in another bag as soon as possible.
- Wash the whole body with plenty of soap and water
- Flush eyes for 10-15 minutes if vision is blurry
- If swallowed, do not induce vomiting or drink liquids
Rinsing the body of a victim who has been exposed to high doses of sarin under running water can help break down the toxins that stick to the skin. Oxygen-assisted breathing can reduce difficulty breathing, but it cannot stop the effects of sarin or reverse the damage it causes to nerves. We recommend that you get medical help right away.
The main treatment is injections with a chemical antidote called atropine or pralidoxime. Both work to inhibit the effects of sarin on the nervous system and can revive a victim of a near death chemical gas attack. Both atropine and pralidoxime must be given to victims within 10 minutes of first exposure for their antidotes to be effective.
