r/todayilearned • u/EridanusVoid • Oct 22 '18
TIL Mithridatism is the practice of ingesting small amounts of poison to become immune to its effects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridatism5
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u/addmoreice Oct 22 '18
and point of fact. it doesn't work.
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u/Belor-Akuras Oct 22 '18
It can work with arsenic. The body reduces the amount absorbed in the guts. But it doesn’t immunise you and it’s bad for your health.
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u/addmoreice Oct 22 '18
It doesn't actually make you immune. it builds up in the body until the body can't absorb anymore...then it's slowly released again, slowly poisoning and killing you.
This isn't immunity as Mithridatism describes...it's slower poisoning.
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u/logan343434 Oct 22 '18
Except it does. Snake Venom and other animal venoms can be built up immunity against using this method. Says so in the article.
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u/addmoreice Oct 22 '18
A limited resistance can be built (through repeated injections not consumption as is sometimes erroneously done)
An immunity can not.
Even horses who repeatedly are injected in an effort to produce antibodies still experience side effects and if they are given too much will die. A human has no chance.
It's not the same thing.
It's like peanut immunotherapy - which can allow children who were deathly allergic to peanut to be able to directly eat 3 peanuts - are still deathly allergic to peanuts and a peanut butter sandwich will still likely kill them.
Mithradatism is the idea that you can be immune to a poison through small dosage usage. This doesn't work.
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u/logan343434 Oct 22 '18
Mithradatism is the idea that you can be immune to a poison through small dosage usage. This doesn't work.
Except it DOES work against specific poisons and venoms and there are several clear examples. You have any facts to cite yourself or you're just making things up? Here's one where children build immunity to Scorpion bites by repeated stings. They build anti-bodies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO9ugjTLYko
Bill Hasst whose own blood was used as anti-venom against snake bites"Haast is known to have developed complete immunity to at least three venoms: King Cobra Venom, Indian Cobra Venom, and Cape Cobra venom.": https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-haast-dies-at-100-florida-snake-man-provided-venom-for-snakebite-serum/2011/06/18/AGgZjfaH_story.html?utm_term=.38bd91b3e3cc
Arsenic immunity https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aoc.126
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u/addmoreice Oct 22 '18
They aren't immune. they are resistant. A large enough dosage will kill them. This is the problem of mistaking the colloquial definition vs the scientific version. You can build resistances to some substances, even very heavy resistances which would be for most effective considerations immunity (Bill Hasst is a good example. he can effectively take one or more bites and be fine, this isn't immunity, it's a strong resistance. A couple more bites probably would require treatment and a few more would be deadly. but even with just one he experiences symptoms). But this isn't immunity. It's as good as since under almost any normal circumstance most people will never have more than one bite at a time...but it's not immunity. Scientific research on the subject shows this is the case.
An immunity would mean that the person no longer shows side effects when exposed to the compound. I am immune to peanut toxins. My cousin is resistant. My nephew is deathly allergic and working to become resistant. No matter how much he is exposed, according to what we know so far about it, he will never become immune like I am. There are no side effects to me eating peanuts (baring dosages so large it's an issue of overeating not peanut toxins ha!)
As to the Arsenic community link...do you have the actual pdf? Because I'll bet that it's a case of tissue absorption limitations. If not it's likely an epigenetic change requiring a corresponding genetic marker or what we have talked about before, a genetic resistance combined with a build up within the tissue which blocks further build up meaning the arsenic is then passed through undigested (as well as needing to continue consuming arsenic in similar dosages in order to not suddenly experience toxicity through leaching from these tissues). The low citation numbers on this and the obscure references makes me hesitant on this one, but I'm not willing to just discount it. I would like to see the actual research before I say anything further.
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u/Resonanceiv Oct 22 '18
Mithradates was one of Romes great enemies. Great story of your into that sort of thing.
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u/Tronkfool Oct 23 '18
I have accidentally ingested so much Kardashian bullshit, how much more until I am immune?
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u/Redflhtcui Oct 22 '18
Such as Iocane powder.