What is the treatment for ricin poisoning?
How ricin works • Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a person’s body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur. • Effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether ricin was inhaled, ingested, or injected. Signs and symptoms of ricin exposure • The major symptoms of ricin poisoning depend on the route of exposure and the dose received, though many organs may be affected in severe cases. • Initial symptoms of ricin poisoning by inhalation may occur within 8 hours of exposure. Following ingestion of ricin, initial symptoms typically occur in less than 6 hours. • Inhalation: Within a few hours of inhaling significant amounts of ricin, the likely symptoms would be respiratory distress (difficulty breathing), fever, cough, nausea, and tightness in the chest. Heavy sweating may follow as well as fluid building up in the lungs (pulmonary edema). This would make breathing ev
