What are War gases?

The offensive use of non-living toxic products produced by living organisms is considered as chemical warfare. They produce physiological changes in the human body.
1. The term " war gases" includes  any chemical which used to produce destruction or damage mostly in times of war...


1. Lesican or blistering  gas:
      these are mainly sulfur, mustard, phosgene, oximes, and lewisite. They are discharged in artillery shell so as to saturate the area of attack
      Mustard gases causes irritation of eye, nose, throat and respiratory passage, skin, erythema, blisters, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
It  passes through the clothes into the skin and produce intense itching, redness, vesication, and ulceration especially of moist areas.
Treatment:
2. Wash the affected parts thoroughly
3. Eyewash in sodium bicarbonate solution
4. BAL


2. Asphyxiants or lung irritants:
3. Gases- chlorine, phosgene releases from tanks, gas shells.
4. Liquids- chloropicrin and diphosgene are liquid used in gas shells.
5. Phosgene:   10 times and chloropicrin: 4 times more toxic than chorine


NO, sulfur dioxide, ammonia produce chest tightness and pulmonary edema. Their action is mainly on the pulmonary alveoli.


When inhaled they cause watering of the eyes, coughing, dyspnoea, tightness, stertorous breathless, cyanose and collapse.
Death occurs in 24-48hrs due to acute pulmonary edema.
RX:  1. Wash eyes with lonic acid.
        2. Oxygen and adrenaline
        3. Antitussives
        4. Antibiotics.
3. Lachrymatory /tear gases:
                         These are mainly
• Chloroacetophenone which is solid and ethyl iodoacetate
• Bromobenzyl cyanide which are liquids
• The vapors cause intense irritation of the eyes copious flow of tears, spasms of eyelids and temporary blindness
• Weak sodium bicarbonate solution is applied to the affected parts, IV aminophylline, salbutamol inhalation
4. Strenuatators or nasal irritants:
        these are solid organic compounds of arsenic and are fixed in artillery shells, they are diphenyl cyanarsine.
5. Paralysants:
          Hydrocyanic and sulfurated hydrogen and CO
6. Nerve gases:
                        Nerve agents are esters of phosphoric acid and identical to organophosphates.
                        Major agents
• GA(Tabun)
• GB(sarin)
• GD(Soman)
• VM
• VX,
Are colourless   volatile liquids