|
Post by Coolkat on Jun 18, 2024 3:51:36 GMT -8
I always take charcoal with me backpacking. I've only had to use it once. It works wonders in removing inflammation. ![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52830123460_b5907c42ce.jpg)
|
|
ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 10,519
Member is Online
|
Post by ErnieW on Jun 18, 2024 5:40:55 GMT -8
It grabs on to anything it can and you poop it out. According to this article on activated charcoal it does not grab everything: It’s important to note that activated charcoal is not effective in all cases of poisoning. For instance, it appears to have little effect on alcohol, heavy metal, iron, lithium, potassium, acid, or alkali poisonings www.healthline.com/nutrition/activated-charcoal
|
|
rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,895
|
Post by rebeccad on Jun 18, 2024 7:18:54 GMT -8
It grabs on to anything it can and you poop it out. According to this article on activated charcoal it does not grab everything: It’s important to note that activated charcoal is not effective in all cases of poisoning. For instance, it appears to have little effect on alcohol, heavy metal, iron, lithium, potassium, acid, or alkali poisonings www.healthline.com/nutrition/activated-charcoalIt also appears that, while activated charcoal is used in water filters to, yes, get the viruses out, the studies on using internally are few and mostly not conclusive, with some suggesting it might help, others not. I noticed that a number of sources point out that common side effects of consuming it include vomiting and diarrhea, though constipation is also mentioned, as well as the risk of it absorbing other meds, as Sarbar noted. Overall, I’d say it’s a big maybe, and for me, that doesn’t get it a place in my FAK. Note too that it isn’t a systemic thing—it can only absorb what’s in the stomach and (maybe?) on through the digestive tract.
|
|
ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 10,519
Member is Online
|
Post by ErnieW on Jun 18, 2024 8:19:45 GMT -8
while activated charcoal is used in water filters to, yes, get the viruses out Actually charcoal can't/doesn't do that. Physical water purifiers have a physical pore size removing down to 0.02 microns by design of the polymer membrane. The carbon in filters is there to remove organic compounds. Also the data shows that activated carbon by itself doesn't help healing but will reduce the smell of an infected wound when used in bandaging. If it is mixed with silver then it can be effective in managing/healing infection.
|
|
|
Post by Coolkat on Jun 18, 2024 8:26:18 GMT -8
rebeccad, I'm sure you already know this but charcoal is the "go to" for emergency poisons in emergency rooms because it works so well. As you pointed there cases where it doesn't have much affect but it will not hurt you. As a user of charcoal for many many years I can personally testify that it is a great product. It works wonders on insects bites. I mostly use it for indigestion, heart burn, and diarrhea, where I've had 100% success. We keep a rather large supply of it in our house. The only side-affect I've ever had was a day's worth of constipation. The only risk I know of, like already mentioned, is its use with meds. This alone should testify to how well it works. In my FAK is about 20 to 30 tablets (purposely not capsules) that I bet if I weight them would be less than an ounce. This is just one study there are many many more. With this I'll leave this topic alone as it could become my "soap box" www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1306980/Poisoned patients were first treated with charcoal more than 150 years ago. Despite its almost universal acceptance today, activated charcoal's role has been overshadowed by the emphasis on treating poisoned patients first with gastric emptying. We review the current use of activated charcoal and recent studies that suggest that activated charcoal may be the single most effective treatment in many types of poisoning. New explanations for the mechanisms of action include “back diffusion” and disruption of enterohepatic loops. Clinical data endorse a new and aggressive role for activated charcoal in the management of poisoned and overdosed patients.
|
|
rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,895
|
Post by rebeccad on Jun 19, 2024 6:47:00 GMT -8
Absolutely no question it works for certain poisons. The question is whether it will take up viruses or bacteria in the gut to stop diarrhea. So far I haven’t been able find much scientific study of that, leaving us with anecdote. Too bad we didn’t have it with is in AFrica. We could have run controlled tests that one night…
|
|
BigLoad
Trail Wise!
Pancakes!
Posts: 13,372
|
Post by BigLoad on Jun 20, 2024 7:50:25 GMT -8
Outbreaks at Havasupai happen more often than we know, this one just got more widely publicized because the cases got reported in a way that they could be correlated. The area gets heavy use by people with limited experience and knowledge about protecting themselves and water sources or who take care to act on the knowledge they have.
|
|