Copper poisoning occurs due to toxic copper salts, leading to symptoms like metallic taste, nausea, vomiting, and severe complications such as renal failure and death. Treatment includes stomach washing and chelation therapy, with postmortem changes showing greenish-blue stains and affected organs. Chronic exposure can result in conditions like Wilson's disease and is often accidental, as copper salts are rarely used for intentional harm.

1. COPPER POISONING

2. COPPER
• Brown coloured metal
• Not toxic as a metal
• Copper salts are toxic
• Uses:
– Insecticide
– Fungicide
– Algicide (algae in swimming pools)
– Alloys (brass, bronze)
– Pigments (copper chromate, red copper oxide)

3. POISONOUS COMPOUNDS OF COPPER
Chemical Name Common Name
Copper Acetoarsenite Paris green
Copper arsenite Scheele’s green
Copper carbonate Mountain green
Copper subacetate Verdigris
Copper sulphate Blue vitriol

4. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF COPPER POISONING
• Appear within 15-30 min
• Metallic taste
• Increased salivation
• Burning pain in stomach
• Nausea, vomiting (vomited matter : blue / green colour)
• Diarrhoea with much straining (motions are liquid and brown)
• Oliguria, haematuria, albuminuria, acidosis, uraemia
• In severe cases, haemolysis, jaundice, pancreatitis, convulsions,
spasm of legs
• Breathing difficulty, cold perception, severe head ache
• Death due to HEPATIC or RENAL failure or both

5. • Acute inhalation results in cough and sore throat
• Nasal mucous membrane may show atrophy with
perforation
• Exposure to skin may result in contact dermatitis, greenish
blue discolouration of skin (severe exposure)
• FATAL PERIOD:
– 1-3 days
• FATAL DOSE :
– Copper sulphate : 30gm
– Copper subacetate : 15gm

6. TREATMENT
• Stomach wash with 1% potassium ferrocyanide
(forms insoluble cupric ferrocyanide)
• Emetics are contraindicated
• Demulcent drinks form insoluble albuminate of
copper
• Haemodialysis useful in early stage
• Castor oil given to remove poison from intestines
• Chelation with PENCILLAMINE or EDTA or BAL

7. POSTMORTEM CHANGES
• Skin maybe yellow
• Greenish-blue froth in mouth & nostrils
• Gastric mucosa and stomach contents greenish / bluish
• Gastric mucosa : congested, swollen, inflamed,
occasionally eroded
• Liver : soft & fatty
• Kidney : degenerative changes in proximal tubules

8. CHRONIC COPPER POISONING
• Occur in workers with the metals or food contaminated
with Verdigris
• Chronic inhalation of copper sulphate spray: Vineyard
sprayer’s lung
• Chronic copper poisoning: Wilson’s disease
• Deposition of copper in tissues: CHALCOSIS
• Copper deposition in cornea: Kayser – Fleischer Ring

9. CIRCUMSTANCES OF POISONING
• Rarely used for homicides because of colour and taste
• Suicide causes are rare
• Accidental poisoning
• Sometimes the salts are taken internally for abortion
• Rarely it is used as cattle poisoning.