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Writer's pictureBrenna Reistad

Biological Weapon Symptom Timeline

Symptoms from gas attacks:

 

Immediately upon skin contact:

  • Skin, eyes, nose, throat, mouth being:

  • Stinging, burning pain, itching = all can last for 24 hours

  • Eyes

  • Pupils constrict

  • Burn

  • Begin watering from irritation 

  • Nose

  • Starts running

  • Chest

  • Tightness in chest

 


 A few minutes after exposure:

  • Skin

  • A red rash begins to spread around the skin

  • Eyes

  • Excessive tearing (tears)

  • Eyes continue to hurt

  • Eyes may swell shut 

  • Blindness occurs (non-permanent usually, effect of mustard gas.)

  • Throat 

  • Irritated

  • Coughing 

  • Burns

  • Heavy secretions and salivation

  • Chest

  • Tightness

  • Burning

  • Hard to breathe

  • Wheezing 

  • Body

  • Vomiting

  • Muscle spasms

  • Sweating

  • Cramping 

  • Weakness

 


2-3 hours after exposure:

  • Seizures

  • Unconsciousness

  • Breathing problems continue

  • Depending on proximity= chemical burns of varying degree to the nose, throat, and lungs

  • Low grade fever starts

  • Easily bruising and bleeding 

  • Blindness 

 

 Skin

  • Red rash begins to turn into small blisters

  • The person is now both infected and contagious 

 

 

3-12 hours after exposure:

  • Victim is highly contagious via body fluid, especially saliva

  • Blisters turn into large, painful, fluid filled blisters that will last 2-3 days

  • Confusion

  • Irritation 

  • Mental deterioration 

  • Breathing problems continue

  • Fever gets higher

  • Cranial swelling (brain swelling)

  • Blood clots

  • Easily bruising and bleeding 

  • blindness

 

Divergences begin to happen based on if the patient will turn or survive, there is no in between state.


 12 - 18 Hours 

  • Turning

  • Chest pain, shortness of breath continues

  • Problems moving parts of the body

  • Leg pain

  • Brain swelling 

  • Fever increasing to dangerous levels

  • Sweating

  • Dehydration

  • Easily bruising and bleeding 

  • Possible blood clots being to form

  • Blindness continues

  • Breathing remains constricted

 

  • Survive

  • Chest pain, shortness of breath continues

  • Problems moving parts of the body

  • Leg pain

  • Brain swelling

  • Fever increasing

  • Sweating

  • Dehydration

  • Easily bruising and bleeding 

  • Possible blood clots being to form

  • Blindness continues

  • Breathing remains constricted

 

 


18-21 Hours

  • Turning

  • High fever

  • Confusion

  • Unable to move body

  • Fatigue

  • Dehydration

  • Brain swelling

  • Rapid deterioration of physical coordination, loses all hand eye coordination   

  • Extreme irritability 

  • Blindness continues

  • Rapid mental deterioration 

  • Confusion

  • Breathing remains constricted

 

  • Survive

  • Fever is on the higher end, but not dangerous levels

  • Confusion

  • Unable to move body

  • Fatigue

  • Dehydration

  • Brain swelling

  • Rapid deterioration of physical coordination, hand eye coordination very low   

  • Extreme irritability 

  • Blindness continues

  • Mental deterioration 

  • Confusion

  • Breathing remains constricted

 

 

 21 – 24 hours

  • Turning

  • Falls into coma, cannot be woken up, no response to any stimulation

  • Fever reaches borderline of deadly

  • Potential bleeding from eyes, ears, nose, mouth 

  • Potential seizures 

  • Nerve death 

  • Breathing remains constricted

 

  • Surviving

  • Falls into coma, cannot be woken up, no response to any stimulation 

  • Fever reaches peak height, then begins to break

  • Potential seizures 

  • Potential hypothermia as temperature falls (covered in sweat)

  • Breathing begins to ease 

 

24 hours

  • Turn: within an hour

  • Remains in coma

  • Fever breaks

  • Body cools to normal temperature 

  • Fluids and electrolytes stabilize 

  • Vision returns/damaged  

  • Hemorrhages stop

  • Patient wakes up

  • Goes into complete raged state and will attack anything it perceives as prey

 

  

28 -36 hours

  • Survive: 

  • Remains in coma

  • Fever breaks

  • Body cools to normal temperature 

  • Possibility of hypothermia if not being cared for

  • Fluids and electrolytes begin to stabilize 

  • Hemorrhages stop

 

36-52 hours

  • Patient awakes from coma

  • Vision returns (without damage)

  • Patient slowly regains ability to move body

  • Extreme fatigue

  • Soreness

  • Slowly regains hand eye coordination

  • Slowly regains mental comprehension

 

  • Patient will make full recovery if

  • Kept clean, dry, and warm (has to be changed and washed every few hours)

  • Given lots of fluids and electrolytes 

  • Given lots of nutrition

  • Follow care procedures 

 

  

Long Term Effects: Survival does not mean it’s all over

  • Possibility of being a carrier of the virus, not immune 

  • Low chance of being immune

 

All possibilities of permanent long-term damage (especially if not cared for)

  • Vision damage

  • Nerve damage

  • Damage/scarring of inner nose, mouth, throat, lungs (permanent breathing problems)

  • Skin scarring from blisters

  • Compromised immune system

  • Severe vitamin deficiencies 

  • Chronic pain

  • Out of breath easily

  • Muscle tremors and spasms 

  • Brain damage

  • Organ damage

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