To quote Wiki on the the procedure of Arsenic poisoning:
Symptoms of arsenic poisoning begin with headaches, confusion, severe diarrhea, and drowsiness. As the poisoning develops, convulsions and changes in fingernail pigmentation called leukonychia striata (Mees's lines, or Aldrich-Mees's lines) may occur. When the poisoning becomes acute, symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, vomiting blood, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more convulsions. The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver. The final result of arsenic poisoning is coma and death.
Arsenic is related to heart disease[ (hypertension-related cardiovascular disease), cancer, stroke(cerebrovascular diseases), chronic lower respiratory diseases, impaired lung function, compromised immune response to H1N1 (swine) flu (a respiratory virus infection and diabetes.Skin effects can include skin cancer in the long term, but often prior to skin cancer are different skin lesions. Other effects may include darkening of skin and thickening of skin.
Chronic exposure to arsenic is related to vitamin A deficiency, which is related to heart disease and night blindness. The acute minimal lethal dose of arsenic in adults is estimated to be 70 to 200 mg or 1 mg/kg/day.
The reason why Arsenic was and is, as far as mysteries are concerned at least, a popular poison is that all these symptoms can be explained naturally, that it doesn't work instantly, and that thus, the poisoner is in the clear if they do it in order to inherit, like the Marquise de Brinvilliers. (One reason why Sophie of Hannover nicknamed it "Inheritance Powder" in her letter.) Whereas Digitalis would have been available if you knew apothocaries or knew your herbs, but it does work really fast, and thus there's no way of disguising what you did.
Have you ever read Flowers in the Attic? Because long time use of Arsenic is a key plot point there. In the Angelique novels, our heroine's first husband, Joffrey, who is among other things a genius level scientist, has her consume a tiny dose of Arsenic on a regular leve, as he does himself, in order to immunize herself against being poisoned. It does save her life later on. But you really have to get the dose right to use it like that. (I think. I'm anything but a scientist.)
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Re: Court of Louis XIV: Madame est morte
Date: 2023-02-10 01:34 pm (UTC)Symptoms of arsenic poisoning begin with headaches, confusion, severe diarrhea, and drowsiness. As the poisoning develops, convulsions and changes in fingernail pigmentation called leukonychia striata (Mees's lines, or Aldrich-Mees's lines) may occur. When the poisoning becomes acute, symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, vomiting blood, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more convulsions. The organs of the body that are usually affected by arsenic poisoning are the lungs, skin, kidneys, and liver. The final result of arsenic poisoning is coma and death.
Arsenic is related to heart disease[ (hypertension-related cardiovascular disease), cancer, stroke(cerebrovascular diseases), chronic lower respiratory diseases, impaired lung function, compromised immune response to H1N1 (swine) flu (a respiratory virus infection and diabetes.Skin effects can include skin cancer in the long term, but often prior to skin cancer are different skin lesions. Other effects may include darkening of skin and thickening of skin.
Chronic exposure to arsenic is related to vitamin A deficiency, which is related to heart disease and night blindness. The acute minimal lethal dose of arsenic in adults is estimated to be 70 to 200 mg or 1 mg/kg/day.
The reason why Arsenic was and is, as far as mysteries are concerned at least, a popular poison is that all these symptoms can be explained naturally, that it doesn't work instantly, and that thus, the poisoner is in the clear if they do it in order to inherit, like the Marquise de Brinvilliers. (One reason why Sophie of Hannover nicknamed it "Inheritance Powder" in her letter.) Whereas Digitalis would have been available if you knew apothocaries or knew your herbs, but it does work really fast, and thus there's no way of disguising what you did.
Have you ever read Flowers in the Attic? Because long time use of Arsenic is a key plot point there. In the Angelique novels, our heroine's first husband, Joffrey, who is among other things a genius level scientist, has her consume a tiny dose of Arsenic on a regular leve, as he does himself, in order to immunize herself against being poisoned. It does save her life later on. But you really have to get the dose right to use it like that. (I think. I'm anything but a scientist.)