Question

*****QUESTION IS IN BOLD

Polly is a Ecologist/Zoonotic and Infectious Disease Specialist. She was on an expedition in the rain forests of Brazil looking for plant-based natural healing products. While she was on-site, she interacted with some of the Indigenous Peoples. Interested in learning more about their culture, she was captivated by the Blow Gun method of hunting they used. But as she was trying to learn more, she accidentally fell while holding the darts and pierced her left cephalic vein with one of the darts. Polly immediately experienced difficulty breathing, she could not talk or move her left side and just collapsed. She is in a confused mental state with altered consciousness, coarse tremor, upper extremity myoclonus, positive Kernig sign, low pulse, and flaccid muscles.

Please explain how the poison from the Curare plant makes Polly feel sick physiologically (as if you are explaining to someone who doesn't understand medical terms), what the treatment is for it, and how the treatment will improve the symptoms listed above.

Answer 1

When a person is exposed to the poison of Curare plant.This has an antagoni called acetylcholine which bind to the acetylcholine receptors Andy neuromuscular junction.This leads to disruption in the communication between nerves and muscles,leading to paralysis of the affected area. So when the respiratory muscles are blocked it causes difficulty breathing. paralysis of oral area and left arm .This affected the brain leading to confusion, tremor and difficulty in extending knee.

The main treatment is administration of antidote.Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor is given.Usually voluntary respiration is resumes after the loss of Curate action from 30 minutes go 8 hours.

Oxygen administration to keep saturation above 85%

Physiotherapy to regain muscular activity

Neuro rehabilitation to treat her confusion and regsin consciousness.