JIM AND DIANE DISCUSS CYANIDE (VS CYANOSIS) POISONING (circa Aug 2021), Jan 26, 2023

Holotruther
Published on Jan 26, 2023
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CYANOSIS vs CYANIDE POISONING

Despite the similar name, cyanide does not directly cause cyanosis. A fatal dose for humans can be as low as 1.5 mg/kg body weight.

Does cyanide change blood color? Cherry red colour of blood might be the only clue sometimes. The skin of a cyanide-poisoned person can sometimes be unusually pink or cherry-red because oxygen will stay in the blood and not get into the cells. Cyanide is even a byproduct of metabolism in the human body. A cherry red skin color that darkens may be present as the result of increased venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Patients with cyanide poisoning will not be cyanotic (blue) but will have a cherry red color due to excess oxygen in the bloodstream.

What drugs contain cyanide?
You can also find cyanide in certain nitrile compounds used in medications like citalopram (Celexa) and cimetidine (Tagamet). Nitriles aren't as toxic because they don't easily release the carbon-nitrogen ion, which is what acts as a poison in the body.

Cyanosis (noun) is an abnormal bluish color of the skin or mucous membranes.
The bluish (cyan) or blue-gray color arises from deoxygenated hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier in your bloodstream that carries oxygen from your lungs to your tissues. Hemoglobin and your blood are red when well-oxygenated, but blood appears to be dark red-blue if there is more than 50 g/L of hemoglobin without oxygen.

Cyanosis can be seen in cases of anoxia and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and is a symptom of asphyxiation. Cyanosis is a bluish color in the skin, lips, and nail beds caused by a shortage of oxygen in the blood. Cyanosis occurs because blood with low levels of oxygen turns blue or purple. This low-oxygen blood causes a blue-purple tint to the skin.

Cyanosis is also observed when a chemical agent blocks the ability of hemoglobin to bind oxygen. For example, carbon monoxide, CO, a product of incomplete combustion, binds to hemoglobin approximately 200 times better than oxygen.