Symptoms of Hydrogen Sulfide Poisoning

At toxic levels, hydrogen sulfide has the peculiar ability to paralyze the olfactory nerve and cause anosmia, or inhibition of smelling. 

TABLE 15-1 Occupational and environmental sources placing individuals at increased risk for hydrogen sulfide exposure 

Mixing acidic and basic drain cleaners Sugar beet processing 

Victims may not detect its well-known rotten eggs odor. Exposed workers can experience knockdowns, or losses of consciousness, described by observers as resembling turning off the switch of a mechanical doll (Guidotti 1994). Oil patch folklore held that after a few knockdowns, victims became simple in the head (Guidotti 1994). 

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TABLE 15-2. Signs and symptoms of hydrogen sulfide poisoning... 

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