EARTH MATERIALS IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE

Rocks and minerals are getting an increasing amount of attention in the studies of their pathologic effects in human health. The beneficial effects of earth materials are all too often ignored or misunderstood.

One area where minerals or their synthetic counterparts are used as pharmaceuticals or palliatives is in emergency medicine. Some of those practices are well known, such as the use of ice and sodium bicarbonate, others, such as clay minerals and zeolites, are not.

Minerals, whose applications are well known include ice and sodium bicarbonate. Ice compresses are applied to sprains or burns to relieve inflammation and speed healing. Solutions of sodium bicarbonate (usually derived from the minerals trona or nahcolite) are routinely administered intra-venously by emergency room medical teams.

Clay minerals in the form of Fullers Earth (mostly montmorillonite and/or palygorskite) are recommended by the Israeli Defense Department for treating exposure to chemical warfare agents by soldiers in the field. Similarly, clay minerals also act as antidote in poisoning by paraquat, a powerful agricultural chemical used world wide. It is highly toxic and has irreversible effects if absorbed into the body. As little as one teaspoon can be fatal. Fuller's Earth with its highly adsorbing surface is administered as an antidote internally as well as externally.

Zeolites are employed in the treatment of radiation exposure and in the cleanup of nuclear radiation leaks. The mineral's open frame structure and ion exchange abilities enable the sequestering of heavy metals. These framework silicates are applied topically, internally by ingestion, and as filters to remove radioactive elements from contaminated water.

The zeolite clinoptilolite is the major ingredient in a material called QuickClot, which is used to stop bleeding from severe trauma, such as soldiers may receive in combat, or civilians in automobile accidents, including severed arteries. In this case, powdered zeolite is applied to the site of the injury to speed the formation of clots. If done in due time, it is a life saving procedure.

Several earth materials are successfully used, with some of them providing life saving agents in emergency medicine.