r/toxicology

Hello all, hopefully this is the right place to ask this question. If not, suggestions on better places to ask are appreciated.

I am a critical care paramedic and have an interest in toxicology. Because of this I am being asked to do a presentation on common toxidrome’s to help narrow down undifferentiated overdose patients. I have been looking things up to make sure I’m providing the most up to date information and ensure what I know is correct. That being said, in my research I have come across mixed information regarding bowel sounds in the sympathomimetic toxidrome. My understanding was that bowel sounds are hyperactive. At this point I have to have looked at ~10 different articles/sites and gotten conflicting information with some saying hyperactive, some saying normal or hypoactive, and some not mentioning them at all. These have generally been reputable sources like pubmed, wikEM, LITFL, etc. I could understand why they would be hypoactive due to the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, as that causes decreased peristalsis.

So basically, what should one expect to hear with bowel sounds in a sympathomimetic drug overdose? Did I learn wrong initially, or has something changed? Is it one of those things in medicine where it kind of just depends and it can be different in different cases? I appreciate all the help in advance.

Hey guys, stuck in a bit of a dilemma right now. I had a prof reach out and recommend I apply to a masters in toxicology program she found for me about a week ago. She said I should apply within a week or two. I have a background in environmental science and chemistry and the prof knows that I’m interested in toxicology hence the recommendation. My issue is I recently got a job in sales/finance (idk how I barely had the qualifications) and I’ve noticed the money in sales is pretty lucrative (like multiple 6 figures lucrative). So, I’m deciding between pursuing further education in something I’m passionate about or just grinding to get a lot of money. I’m not asking for which option to choose since ultimately it’s my decision but I would just like some insight into things like scarcity of jobs and pay ranges. Couldn’t find much info online. Anything is appreciated.

Seeing the difference in demeanor and conditions from how they’re kept for breeding/research vs playing together in a field has been gut wrenching to watch. What’s worse is knowing this is only saving 1500 of 40k+ in the US alone...

I don’t do animal research myself, but this sent me down a rabbit hole…. including reading this overview about how much waste and useless science exists in this field. It makes me think we need to fight for some real change from WITHIN the scientific community.

I get that IACUC exists. It is not enough. And I get that there are multiple ways these dogs are being used (tox, basic research, clinical trials, ortho apparently from that article). Most of it is not worth the trade off of what we’re putting them through.

And if a tiny percent is - then I’m talking about cutting the crazy scale and waste with which this is happening for 40k+ dogs and countless other animals to live and die in agony *every year*.

These dogs are purchased from hellish breeders (Marshall is the only big one left now that Ridglan is closing) and are subjected to even worse after. And this doesn’t even touch on primates and other animals.

And after all of that, over 92% of the medical trial studies done on animals don’t even translate to humans.

It’s embarrassing that it is taking animal rights activists and RFK Jr - two groups who couldn’t be more different politically but agree on this - to force change that should probably be coming from within the scientific community a lot faster.

We like numbers - this stuff doesn’t even translate well. And I like to think most of us still have enough empathy to weigh this from both sides of the scale.

This doesn’t even touch on another huge human issue - the trauma that folks go through who have to do these things to these poor animals every day. Some of you who do may be reading this. If you are - what can we do to end this?

I had a friend pass away recently from some kind of fentanyl overdose. Her family is very private and does not want to share details about her death. All i know is that it was from fent and they found syringes in her room. My first guess would be heroine but i wanted to ask here to see if anyone may have other ideas. I know she was doing percs, coke, and ketamine so perhaps it was more than just one thing. She never admitted to H but i’m not sure what else you inject that could have fent in it.

I'm writing a worldbuilding project, and one of the plants I want to write for it is a plant that has barbs that inject the same poison nightshades use into any animal that gets too close. I want to know if the poison would act fast enough if injected like that to stop the heart of the animal before it got too far away from the plant, or if I should add a paralytic poison as well to the plant. Thank you in advance

Hey there, I'm really interested in toxicology and would like to take a post grad toxinology course.

I'm currently choosing my undergrad courses and I wonder how good each one would be keeping in mind the toxinology course I want to get into later.

If there's anyone here that's down to answer some questions about this in their DMs, it would be really helpful.

Thanks so much.

Anyone know of any slack/discord groups or really any kind of groups for CSPI exam prep & tips. I'm taking my first exam soon! 🤞

hi- i'm currently preparing for an a-level speaking/oral exam which i decided to do on the recent pfas legislation and whether it's effective. i stumbled upon the existence of pfas from a french podcast then the topic became a never-ending rabbit hole. now it's less than a week to my exam and i still don't really have a clear answer- i mean, i know it's very ambitious and certainly a good thing, yet the lobbying and exclusion of kitchenware from the initial bill makes one doubt whether a blanket will ever be possible as based on the research (though admittedly perhaps not enough) even though industries claim some pfas are not carcinogenic/harmful and idk if economical interest from such a big industry makes the effort seem futile. a scientist from a documentary i watched said that banning pfas one by one (eg, pfoa) is like drying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon.

anyways accidentally stumbled upon this place and was wondering if there are some more knowledgable people who can provide some insights?