In ancient times, activated charcoal was used to treat various ailments due to its black, odorless, and tasteless nature. As an emergency anti-poison remedy, it is currently most commonly used in medical settings to treat drug overdoses. Other benefits are also associated with activated charcoal, including reduced gas and flatulence, lower cholesterol levels, and improved kidney function. There is a claim that it will whiten your teeth, filter your water, and even cure your hangover. The production of activated charcoal is achieved by superheating natural sources of carbon, such as wood. Black powder binds to toxins in the stomach and prevents them from being absorbed. Toxins that bind to charcoal leave the body in the feces since the body cannot absorb charcoal.
We will examine some of the ways in which activated charcoal is used, as well as its potential benefits.
Activated Charcoal Powder is the worlds strongest known adsorbing agent it is used to counteract the effects of countless poisons that may be encountered in or around the home. Medical professionals have used charcoal to treat poisonous insect stings and bites such as bee, wasp, hornet, scorpion, and centipede stings, fire ant, spider, and even mosquito and chigger bites. It has been used for first aid in serious situations such as poisonous snake bites and other animal bites. Activated charcoal has been used by hospitals for decades for internal poisonings from household chemicals and also also for the adsorption of excess stomach acid, gas, and in the treatment of diarrhea. Activated charcoal is totally harmless to the body. You CAN NOT use too much! Charcoal will not adsorb nutrients. NOTE overdoses of vitamins or minerals including salt cannot be treated with charcoal since it does not affect nutrients. Do Not use charcoal with any drug internally or externally, since drugs are poisons and will be adsorbed by the charcoal.
What is Activated Charcoal?
A charcoal brick or burned food item is not the same thing as activated charcoal. As a result of the process of manufacturing activated charcoal, it is extremely absorbent, thus allowing it to bind to molecules, ions, and atoms in dissolved substances and remove them from them.
Charcoal is made by heating carbon-rich materials to extremely high temperatures, such as wood, peat, coconut shells, or sawdust. In the “activation” process, the charcoal is stripped of molecules it had previously absorbed, thereby freeing bonding sites once again.
Charcoal pores are also reduced and holes are made in each molecule as a result of this process, increasing its surface area. Therefore, a teaspoon of activated charcoal has roughly the same surface area as a football field.
How Does it Work?
In order to increase charcoal’s surface area, it is activated with gas at high temperatures, which causes the charcoal to form microscopic holes. You cannot absorb activated charcoal from your gut. In this way, it reaches your gut in its unchanged state after you swallow it.
Having a negative electrical charge, charcoal’s porous texture attracts positively charged molecules, such as toxins and gases. This activated charcoal binds to liquids and gases through adsorption when they pass through it.
As a result of these toxins and chemicals, they are absorbed into your body via the gut and eliminated through the stool instead of being absorbed into your body. As well as reducing flatulence, activated charcoal is also highly effective at adsorbing gases.
Benefits of Activated Charcoal
The health benefits of activated charcoal are numerous. In spite of this, some of these benefits are based on decades-old research, so their validity should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is also recommended that you do not self-administer activated charcoal as a poison treatment or overdose treatment. The best thing you can do if you suspect poisoning or overdose is to seek immediate medical attention.
Does activated charcoal improve kidney health?
The use of activated charcoal may improve kidney function by reducing the number of waste products the kidneys need to filter.
For patients with chronic kidney disease, this may be particularly helpful. In healthy kidneys, urea and other toxins can be removed from the body very efficiently. However, this condition interferes with the kidneys’ ability to do so.
Your body may be able to eliminate urea and other toxins with activated charcoal.
It is possible for urea and other waste products to pass directly from the bloodstream to the gut, thanks to a process known as diffusion. You excrete them in stools after they are bound to activated charcoal in your gut.
Activated charcoal may help people with chronic kidney disease lower their blood levels of urea and other waste products, as well as improve their kidney function.
Does activated charcoal help in poisoning?
A common emergency anti-poison treatment since the early 1800s is activated charcoal. It can reduce the effects of a variety of drugs because it can bind to them. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications like aspirin, acetaminophen, and sedatives can be treated with this substance.
Adults can lose up to 74% of their ability to absorb a drug after consuming 50–100 grams of activated charcoal within five minutes of taking it. The benefits of activated charcoal are believed to be greatest after poisoning or overdose within the first hour following the event. It is unlikely to help if you take it after this initial hour, according to older studies.
Several recent studies have reported that it is effective even after this first hour. The reason for this may be that activated charcoal not only prevents drugs from being absorbed, but it also helps your body eliminate drugs that have already been absorbed more quickly.
Furthermore, some research suggests that activated charcoal might be beneficial for digestion if taken up to four hours after taking delayed-release drugs, medications that slow digestion, and large doses of drugs.
For up to six hours after the initial dose of 50–100 grams, several smaller doses of 10–25 grams are taken every 2–4 hours.
There are some indications that this multiple-dose activated charcoal (MDAC) protocol may aid intoxication from drugs that are slowly absorbed.
The use of activated charcoal may not be appropriate in all poisoning cases. As an example, it appears to have little effect on alcohol poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, iron poisoning, lithium poisoning, potassium poisoning, acid poisoning, or alkali poisoning.
Studies from the past and the present warn that activated charcoal should not be administered in all cases of poisoning. It should be considered by qualified healthcare professionals on an individual basis.
* Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, NJ reduced 90% of exchanges transfusions in infants with elevated serum bilirubin by using by using charcoal in their formulas.
* A French chemist downed 5 grams of arsenic trioxide, but sustained no ill effects because it was mixed with charcoal.
* In 1830 a pharmacist swallowed 1 gram of strychnine ( 1ox lethal dose ) but was not fazed because of taking 15 grams of charcoal.
* Numerous cases of bee stings in persons dangerously allergic have been reported neutralized by activated charcoal when a charcoal poultice is applied
immediately and left in place to several hours or charged regularly and used until all swelling had subsided.
Warning do not mix with other drugs!
They will be adsorbed! If medication is necessary, wait at least one hour (preferably two or more hours) after charcoal before medication.
Does activated charcoal Reduce Cholesterol Level?
There is evidence that activated charcoal may lower cholesterol levels. Researchers suggest that activated charcoal binds to cholesterol and cholesterol-containing bile acids in the gut and prevents them from being absorbed.
An older study found that taking 24 grams of activated charcoal per day for four weeks reduced total and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 25% each and raised HDL (good) cholesterol by 8%.
A study found that taking 4–32 grams of activated charcoal daily decreased total and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 29–41% in people with high cholesterol levels. The most effective doses were those with larger quantities.
Similar conclusions have been drawn by other studies, though the results are mixed. In addition, all relevant research was conducted in the 1980s, so we need newer findings.
Does activated charcoal Reduce Symptoms of Fish Odor Syndrome?
When individuals suffer from trimethylaminuria (TMAU), also called fish odor syndrome, activated charcoal may help reduce unpleasant odors. A genetic condition called TMAU occurs when a compound called trimethylamine (TMA) accumulates in the body.
In the body, TMA is usually converted into an odorless compound before it is excreted through the urine, but people with TMAU lack the enzyme to do this. Consequently, TMA accumulates and enters urine, sweat, and breath, giving off a foul, fishy smell.
The porous surface of activated charcoal may bind to odorous compounds such as TMA, allowing them to be excreted more effectively.
In an older study, charcoal was given to people with TMAU for 10 days at a dose of 1.5 grams. They achieved normal levels of TMA in their urine after taking this dosage.
According to a more recent case study, people with TMAU may be able to reduce fishy odors by combining activated charcoal with medications and dietary changes. These effects need to be confirmed by larger, newer studies.
Does activated charcoal work as Deodorant?
Deodorants containing activated charcoal are widely available. In addition to deodorizing underarms, shoes, and refrigerators, charcoal may absorb odors and harmful gases. As well as absorbing excess moisture, activated charcoal can control humidity levels microscopically.
Uses of Activated Charcoal
A trusted source of the World Health Organization approved activated charcoal for the treatment of overdoses and poisonings in the event of an emergency. Activated charcoal has been proposed as a treatment for a growing number of conditions because of its powerful toxin-clearing properties.
Teeth Whitening & Oral Health
Does activated charcoal for Stings or Venomous Bites?
Every second counts! Make a makeshift poultice by putting approximately one tablespoon charcoal on a napkin or paper towel,
folded so it is in two layers. Spread powder so it will cover affected area by an extra half inch at least. Fold the towel over the
top of the powder, and dampen well. Then , GET IT ON THE STING! his will allow the charcoal to begin drawing the poison away from the skin immediately.
For a more workable poultice, follow procedure below it may be necessary to use charcoal for several days or until sting or bite heals.
The active charcoal found in many teeth-whitening products is used to whiten teeth. A number of oral health products that contain an activated charcoal claim to provide a number of benefits, including:
● Antifungal
● Antiviral
● Antibacterial
● Detoxifying
There is no substantial evidence to support the use of activated charcoal for teeth whitening or oral health.
Does activated charcoal work for Skin Care & Skin Infection?
Activated charcoal has been reported to help draw microparticles, such as dust, dirt, chemicals, toxins, and bacteria, to the surface of the skin, making it easier to remove them.
Activated charcoal powder made from coconut shells is used by many traditional medicine practitioners around the world to treat soft tissue conditions, including infections of the skin.
The absorbency of harmful microbes from wounds may make activated charcoal an effective antibacterial agent.
Does a activated charcoal Poultice work?
Make paste of Charcoal with enough water to make consistency of soft ice cream. Apply to folded paper towel, if larger area needed, to cotton
material, enough to cover affected area by at least a half inch. Cover with plastic wrap to avoid mess and drying and hold in place with ace bandage,
adhesive tape, or towel with pins. Severe reactions to stings or spider bites may need to have to have a larger poultice covering the area by a foot or so,
and will need to be replaced every half hour or as needed for the first six hours or so. It may be necessary to have charcoal on the area for several
days, or until the individual is out of serious danger. Larger areas can be covered by putting a cupful or charcoal powder into a tubful of warm water
ad have patient soak for 20 minutes or longer, as necessary.
Wind Up
Natural remedies such as activated charcoal have a wide range of applications. It’s commonly used as an anti-poison treatment for overdoses or poisonings. Research supports this application in a significant way.
In addition, it may help lower cholesterol levels, improve kidney function, reduce gas and diarrhea, and fight symptoms of fishy odor syndrome. However, these benefits have been demonstrated in older or limited studies.
It’s important to consult your doctor before trying activated charcoal if you’re taking other medications. Before increasing the dose, you may want to start with the lower end of the recommended dosage.
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