Paraquat Health Dictionary

A poisonous weedkiller that is available in high concentrations for agricultural use and which can be fatal if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Paraquat poisoning requires urgent medical attention. The symptoms may include breathing difficulties, mouth ulcers, nosebleeds, diarrhoea, and later, respiratory and kidney failure. Treatments include eating activated charcoal or Fuller’s earth. Haemodialysis may also be used.

A contact herbicide widely used in agriculture and horticulture. People using paraquat should be careful to protect their eyes and skin so as not to come into contact with it: a mouthful is enough to kill, and the substance is involved in around 40 suicides annually in the UK. Its major misuse has resulted from its being decanted from the professional pack into soft-drink bottles and kept in the kitchen. Medical assistance should be obtained as soon as possible, as some victims of poisoning may require hospital inpatient care, including renal DIALYSIS. Several medical centres have been set up throughout the country to provide treatment in cases of paraquat poisoning. Details of these can be obtained from the National Poisons Information Service.

n. Trademark. the chemical compound dimethyl dipyridilium, widely used as a weed-killer. When swallowed it exerts its most serious effects upon the lungs, the tissues of which it destroys after a few days. Paraquat poisoning is almost invariably fatal.