Breath odor

Subjective evaluation of odor emission is made difficult by the phenomenon of odor fatigue, which means that after persons have been initially subjected to an odor, they lose the ability to perceive the continued presence of low concentrations of that odor. Therefore, all systems of subjective odor evaluation rely on preventing olfactory fatigue by letting the observer breathe odor-free air for a sufficient time prior to breathing the odorous air and evaluating its odor content. Usually an activated charcoal bed is... 

Doty, R.L., Green, P.A., Ram, C. and Yankell, S.L. (1982) Communication of gender from human breath odors relationship to perceived intensity and pleasantness. Horm. Behav. 16, 13-22. Doty, R.L., Kligman, A., Leyden, J. and Omdorff, M.M. (1978) Communication of gender from human axillary odors Relationship to perceived intensity and hedonicity. Behav. Biol. 23, 373-380. 

Garlic can cause heartburn, nausea, and loose stools at high doses, especially in those unaccustomed to it. Its most characteristic and troublesome side effect, however, is persisting breath odor, which no amount of tooth brushing will eradicate. Allicin and its odoriferous metabolic products are actually released into the lung alveoli and exhaled. 

Overdose may cause hyperglycemia or ketoacidosis manifested as increased urination, thirst, and fruitlike breath odor. 

Signs of inhalant abuse are unusual breath odor or chemical odor on clothing paint or stain marks on the face, fingers, or clothing spots or sores around the mouth and red or runny eyes or nose. Other clues include hidden rags or clothing, or empty containers. 

The final portion involved further examination of the eyes. DREs estimated the diameter of each pupil to the nearest 0.5 mm under conditions of ambient room light, nearly total darkness, indirect light, and direct light. While illuminating the eyes under direct light from a penlight for 15 s, DREs assessed constriction of the pupils and fluctuation of pupillary diameter. Last, DREs measured pulse and assessed muscle tone, attitude, coordination, speech, breath odor, and facial appearance. 

Following oral ingestion, adverse effects may include nausea (6%), hypotension (1.3%), allergy (1.1%), and bleeding (rare). Breath odor has been reported with an incidence of 20-40% at recommended doses using enteric-coated formulations. Contact dermatitis may occur with the handling of raw garlic. 

Irritating to skin, eyes, respiratory tract breath odor of rotten eggs, diarrhea irritant dermatitis in occupationally exposed individuals... 

O Reilly RA, Motley CH. Breath odor after disulfiram. JAMA 1977 238(24) 2600. 

Sharma NC, Galaustians HJ, Qaquish J, et al. The clinical effectiveness of a dentrifice containing triclosan and a copolymer for controlling breath odor measured organoleptically twelve hours after toothbrushing. / Clin Dent 1999 10 131-134. 

Diabetic ketoacidosis (hyperglycemic reaction) Extreme thirst, polyuria, fruity breath odor, Kussmaul... 

Bowel movements - diarrhea Breath, odor - garlic Eyes, vision - dim... 

Abdomen, flank - pain Abdomen - pain Arterial press - low Breath, odor - garlic Breathing - difficult (dyspnea) Breathing - rapid (tachypnea)... 

Tellurium excretion patterns depend on the chemical forms and mode of administration of the compounds. Parenterally administered tellurium is excreted mainly in the urine rather than the feces, whereas orally ingested tellurium salts are excreted mainly in the feces (Durbin 1960). After oral dosing to rats, 60 -80% of ingested tellurite is rapidly excreted in the feces. The absorbed tellurium is secreted in the bile and enters the intestine. Small amounts of absorbed elemental tellurium and tellurite are exhaled ( 0.1%) presumably as dime-thyltelluride, and produce a characteristic garlic-like breath odor (De Meio 1946). 

The characteristic signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication are well known. Nevertheless, an erroneous diagnosis of drunkenness may occur with patients who appear inebriated but who have not ingested ethanol. Diabetic coma, for example, may be mistaken for severe alcoholic intoxication. Drug intoxication, cardiovascular accidents, and skull fractures also may be confused with alcohol intoxication. The odor of the breath of a person who has consumed ethanol is due not to ethanol vapor but to impurities in alcoholic beverages. Breath odor in a case of suspected intoxication can be misleading because there can be other causes of breath odor similar to that after alcohol consumption. BALs are necessary to confirm the presence or absence of alcohol intoxication. 

Thermal desorption of purged and trapped garlic breath was studied by GC/MS [53] in which allyl methyl sulfide, diallyl sulfide, diallyl disulfide, -cymene and D-limonene were found consistently in all subjects, however, allyl thiol was detected occasionally. Preliminary evidence suggest that stomach acid caused increased evolution of hydrogen sulfide, a potential breath odor compound, during digestion. 

Recent advances in the design and fabrication of chemical and biological sensors for toxicity evaluation are summarized in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 discusses the applications of electronic noses and tongues in areas such as food, beverage, environmental, clinical, and pharmaceutical applications. Chapter 7 overviews the applications of sensors in food and environmental analysis. Chapter 8 focuses on the medical diagnosis, with particular emphasis on in-vivo measurement where either body or breath odor are collected and analyzed. Chapter 9 outlines the DNA biosensors that hold great promise for the task of environmental control and monitoring. 

I. Mechanism of toxicity. Precise cellular toxopathology is poorly understood. Animal studies implicate mechanisms involving the fonnation of superoxide and hydroxyl anions as well as hydrogen peroxide. Mechanistic knowledge makes no contribution to treatment currently. A garlic breath odor observed in various selenium poisonings is due to in vivo creation of dimethylselenium. 

IV. Diagnosis is difficult without a history of exposure. Acute severe gastroenteritis with garlic breath odor and hypotension may suggest selenious acid poisoning, but these findings are not specific. 

Check for unusual breath odors if the victim is breathing. 

Glucosuria and ketonuria and fruity (ketone) breath odor (in DKA)... 

There is a metallic taste in the mouth, a noticeable garlic breath odor and very painful inflammation of the nail beds [33]. Long term effects may involve cirrhosis of the liver, kidney damage and spleen atrophy, but little information is available [17]. 

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