What medical activated carbon is made of. Activated carbon: varieties, mode of action and composition of tablets. Instructions for use

Activated carbon, sometimes called carbolene, is used to purify dirty water or polluted air. In emergency situations, activated carbon is used to remove dangerous toxins and poisons from the body. Before preparing activated charcoal, it is necessary to make charcoal at home by burning wood or fibrous plant material. After that, activating chemicals such as calcium chloride or lemon juice can be added to complete the process.

Steps

Part 1

How to cook charcoal

Fire up in a safe place small fire . The easiest way to get charcoal is by building a fire outside, but you can also do it in your home fireplace (if you have one). The fire must be intense enough to burn all the wood.

• When working with fire, take precautions and always keep a fire extinguisher handy.

1. Place small chips of hardwood into a metal pot. If you don't have the right wood, you can replace it with any dense, fibrous plant material, such as coconut shells. Place wood or plant material in a metal pot and cover it with a lid.

   Heat a pot over an open fire for 3-5 hours to create charcoal. Place the covered pot over the fire. As you cook, you will see smoke and gas coming out through the holes in the lid. All unnecessary substances are removed along with the smoke, and only clean coal remains in the pot.

   Rinse the cooled charcoal with water. The charcoal in the pot remains hot for a while. Let it cool down for a while. When the charcoal is cool to the touch, transfer to a clean container and rinse in cool water to remove ash and other debris. Then drain off all the water.

   Crush the coal. Transfer the washed charcoal to a mortar and pestle to a fine powder. Alternatively, you can place it in a sturdy plastic bag and grind it into a powder with a wooden chop hammer or large hammer.

   Wait for the charcoal powder to dry completely. If using the cellophane bag method, transfer the powder to a clean bowl. Otherwise, leave it in the mortar. After about a day, the powder is completely dry.

   Mix the calcium chloride solution with wood powder. Transfer the dry wood powder to a glass or stainless steel bowl. Add the calcium chloride solution (lemon juice or bleach) to the powder in small portions, stirring constantly with a spoon.

   Cover the bowl and wait 24 hours. Cover the bowl and let the mixture sit. Then drain as much liquid from the bowl as possible. At this stage, the coal will still be wet, but not wet.

   Activating coal will take another 3 hours. Transfer the charcoal back to the metal pot (cleaned) and put on fire. The fire must be intense enough to boil the water required to activate the charcoal. After 3 hours of boiling at the same temperature, the activated carbon will be ready.

Part 3

How to use activated carbon

Purify the air in your home. Wrap a small amount of activated charcoal in a sheet and place it where you want it. If you don't have a sheet, use a thick, breathable fabric like cotton.

Use a sock to make a water filter out of charcoal. In the store, water filters are usually quite expensive, but you can build your own filter and get the same result using a cheaper method. Take a clean sock that doesn't smell like washing powder or bleach and put activated charcoal in it. You can now purify the water by filtering it through a sock.

Prepare an activated charcoal clay face mask. Take a small bowl and add 30 milligrams of bentonite clay, 2.5 milligrams of activated charcoal, 15 milligrams of turmeric, 30 milliliters of apple cider vinegar, and 5 milliliters of honey. Then start adding a little water to the mixture until you get a smooth paste.

Treat bloating and gas with activated charcoal. Add 500 milligrams of powdered activated charcoal to 350 milliliters of water. Drink this mixture before eating foods that cause bloating, or to manage symptoms if you feel too much gas in your intestines.

Part 4

How to make an activated carbon gas mask

Make a gas mask from a 2 liter plastic bottle. Take scissors and cut off the bottom of a 2 liter plastic bottle. Then cut a 7 cm wide flap from one side of the bottle. This section will be a continuation of the cut-off bottom, to which the base of the neck of the bottle is attached up to the spout.

• The plastic will be jagged where you cut it with the scissors. Take a medical tape and glue the edges of the bottle with it.

1. Build a filter chamber with an aluminum tin can. Use scissors or a can opener to punch holes in the bottom of the aluminum tin can to allow air to enter. Then, cut off the top of the can with sturdy or metal scissors.

   • Proceed with caution when working with cut metal. Typically, this metal has sharp edges that will cut the skin. A layer of medical tape will make the edges less sharp.

2. Pour activated charcoal into the gas mask. Line the bottom of the jar with a layer of cotton cloth. Place a layer of activated charcoal over the top of the cotton, then press down on top with another piece of cotton cloth. Wrap cotton fabric around the top of the can and punch a small hole in the fabric.

   Glue the parts of the gas mask together and use as needed. Insert the spout of a 2 liter bottle into the hole in the cotton fabric that covers the top of the can. Glue an aluminum can to a 2 liter bottle to complete the mask making process. When you breathe in air through such a mask, the air is purified using activated charcoal inside the can.

Charcoal consists of pores, cracks going deeper. The pores have different diameters. Larger pores are macropores, medium mesopores and small micropores. Molecules that we want to get rid of are stuck in these gaps. Activated carbon differs from ordinary carbon in that it has longer pores and more molecules can get stuck there. The efficiency of activated carbon is higher.

How are we going to activate charcoal.

At the first stage, we will drive the water into the pores. You can soak the charcoal or boil it in a saucepan or pressure cooker. Under the influence of heat, water molecules move deeper into the pores, hit the walls and slightly expand, deepen them.

At the second stage, we place the swollen coal in an oven that is hot, to the maximum. Water molecules will receive a dramatically greater energy, begin to rush about in the pores, tearing them apart. To make charcoal with long pores, heatstroke is necessary, the oven must be preheated to the maximum.

To activate coal, we buy it in the store. The most important thing is that it is clean and does not smell of smoke, otherwise the moonshine will take on the smell.

Pour coal into a bag of sugar and beat it with a hammer or the butt of an ax, crushing it. Pour the crushed coal into a colander, which is located above the pan. Stirring it by hand, the dust settles into the pan, put the coarse coals back in the bag for grinding. We do all this on the street, as there is a lot of dust. You can do it in another way, soak the coal in water, and then grind it, there will be less dust.

I put the crushed coal into the pressure cooker and pour it over with water. I put it on fire, for an hour and an hour there is coal under pressure, in water vapor. I don’t know how much to boil, maybe more.

At the second stage of activating charcoal, pour it onto a baking sheet and place it in a hot oven. The coal will crackle. I keep it there until it dries, and the smell of charcoal appears. Then I turn off the oven, the coal dries up.

Checking coal for activation. I pour it into the water, the coal starts to hiss, to bubble.

Charcoal activation.

Hello dear readers!

I myself often use it for allergies, and for poisoning, and for the skin of the face. Just at this time, I am cleaning the body with activated carbon.

What does activated carbon do

Activated carbon is a substance that is produced from charcoal with the addition of coal, bitumen, coconut shells and other materials.

Even in ancient times, charcoal was used in the treatment of intestines, gallbladder, liver, bruises, skin diseases, injuries, insect bites, calluses, lichen and in other cases.

But ordinary charcoal does not have a sufficient maximum effect and does not remove all harmful substances to the outside.

Currently, they have learned how to make activated carbon, today it is produced by the industry in the form of tablets, capsules, granules.

Why activated carbon?

It becomes such thanks to the peculiarities of production. First, the raw material is charred and then treated with hot steam - activated, as a result additional porosity is created. It is thanks to her that the high adsorption capacity of activated carbon is achieved.

Here is a list of what activated carbon does:

1. has a detoxifying effect
2. antidiarrheal action
3. removes poisons and toxins from the gastrointestinal tract
4. adsorbs alkaloids and glycosides
5. slightly adsorbs acids and alkalis
6. remove salts of heavy metals, sulfonamides, gases
7. absorbs harmful substances secreted by the skin.

The range of applications for activated carbon is so vast! You can drink it with:

• flatulence
• diarrhea
• poisoning
• dysentery
• salmonellosis
• burns
• cirrhosis of the liver
• chronic hepatitis
• cholecystitis
• enterocolitis
• gastritis
• renal failure
• bronchial asthma
• allergic diseases
• hangover syndrome
• metabolic disorders
• intoxication after radiation and chemotherapy
• slimming
• to cleanse the body.

Activated carbon is used externally and even in everyday life.

We will consider several applications in more detail below.

How to take activated charcoal correctly

To take activated charcoal, like any medicine, you need to correctly in order to avoid possible side effects.

Although activated carbon is not toxic, not absorbed by the intestines, it is excreted within 7-10 hours after ingestion, it has almost no contraindications, but on its way through the intestines, it not only collects all kinds of toxins, but also indiscriminately absorbs all useful trace elements and vitamins , which can lead to dysbiosis.

Therefore, you should avoid long-term intake of pills, and after a course of treatment, it is advisable to drink vitamins and drugs that restore microflora.

In addition, activated charcoal should not be taken in conjunction with other medications, the effect of which charcoal will negate.

What time to take activated charcoal

Charcoal is taken on an empty stomach an hour or two before meals or the same time after meals. It is convenient to do this in the morning, immediately after waking up and in the evening two hours before bedtime (since taking coal should be accompanied by drinking a lot of water).

How much activated carbon to take

The dose is individual in each case, it is described in the recipes.

The most commonly used calculation is as follows: 1 tablet (25 ml) of coal per 10 kilograms of weight.

For example, if your weight is 70 kg, then you should take 7 tablets in one or 2-3 doses.

A child weighing 20 kg can be given two activated charcoal tablets.

How best to drink

You can take the tablets by chewing and drinking water (at least a glass).

The whole tablet can also be swallowed. To make this easier, take a sip of water first and moisten your throat.

Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day while taking activated charcoal.

How many days can you drink activated carbon

Depending on the specific case, coal can be taken from 3 to 14 days. You cannot drink coal for more than 14 days in a row, this can lead to constipation and impoverishment of the body (read above). Be sure to take a two-week break, and if necessary, you can repeat the course.

Contraindications

Immediately I will tell you about possible contraindications, there are few of them:

1. hypersensitivity
2. stomach and duodenal ulcer
3. bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract
4. simultaneous administration with antitoxic drugs.

Activated charcoal in individual cases can cause constipation, and even then, if you take a lot of it at once, as well as diarrhea.

Be sure to store it in a dry place away from substances that emit gases.

Activated carbon - methods of application

Let's consider different ways of using activated carbon from treating diseases of internal organs and cleansing the body to external use.

Diseases of the internal organs

Activated carbon is effectively used for diseases of the kidneys, liver, and pancreas.

In case of intestinal diseases, coal removes toxic products from it, reduces flatulence and intestinal colic, and improves overall well-being.

Coal is taken in crushed form, half a teaspoon 2-3 times a day. The course is 2 weeks.

With gastritis with high acidity, the intake of activated carbon removes part of the gastric juice, thereby helping to improve the condition of the mucous membrane.

Try this recipe: crush 1 tablet of charcoal, mix with 5 grams of turmeric and a teaspoon of honey, take before bed for 10 days.

Allergy

Activated charcoal is recommended for bronchial asthma, dermatitis, and seasonal allergy to flowering, as it is able to remove substances that cause an allergic reaction from the body and restore immunity.

You need to take activated charcoal for allergies according to the following scheme:

On the first day of taking, take coal powder at the tip of a knife, and drink it 3-4 times a day before meals (about an hour).

In the next 4 days, bring the dose to one teaspoon and take it for another 2-3 days.

Then the dosage should be reduced.

One course of admission is 2 weeks.

Application for hypertension

Mix three parts of chopped dill seeds with one part of activated angle and take this mixture before meals ½ teaspoon. Drink with water.

Heartburn

Grind activated carbon into powder, dissolve one tablespoon of it in a glass of water. This solution can be drunk in small portions throughout the day.

Cough

The recipe for a cough with honey and aloe juice has been known to me for a long time, I myself have been treated this way many times, but I discovered that the addition of activated carbon to this mixture gives a good effect.

Composition of the medicine: 150 ml of aloe juice, half a kilogram of honey, 200 grams of butter, a bar of dark chocolate and 100 grams of charcoal.

Take a well-mixed mass in a tablespoon half an hour before meals.

Application for poisoning

Activated carbon in case of poisoning is the best and most effective, fast way to adsorb various poisons that have entered the stomach. It can be taken even during pregnancy.

How to take activated charcoal in case of poisoning, you need to know.

In the first hours after poisoning, you should immediately take 20-30 grams of coal powder dissolved in 100-150 ml of water. What is needed is a large dose of coal, since it will begin to act after it creates an excess in the stomach.

In case of acute poisoning, you first need to rinse the stomach with plenty of water with the addition of activated carbon (10 grams per 100 ml of water). And then in the next 2-3 days of treatment, take one gram (1 teaspoon) per glass of water one hour before meals 3 times a day.

Application for a hangover

The so-called hangover is also poisoning caused by alcohol. Although I myself, in principle, do not drink alcohol in any form, but how to treat a hangover, I know, I have saved more than one person more than once.

I am telling you how to take activated charcoal for a hangover.

First of all, before the start of a feast with an expected large amount of alcohol consumption, take activated charcoal in the amount of 1 tablet per 20 kg of body weight. We consider: weight 60 - 3 tablets, weight 80 - 4 tablets.

After the end of the feast, immediately drink twice as much coal (6, 7 or 8 pieces, etc., depending on the weight).

In the morning, it would be good to take more coal in a small dose - 1 tablet per 30 kg of body weight.

There is also such a recipe: 15 tablets before and 15 after a feast, so for sure, I usually recommend it.

If intoxication has already occurred and you feel terrible, drink 6-8 charcoal tablets, 2 no-shpa tablets and 1 aspirin at one time before bed.

Application for cleansing the body

The simplest and most effective way to cleanse the intestines, stomach, liver is with activated charcoal, I already mentioned it when I talked about different ones.

I myself am now conducting such a cleaning course. Everything happens very easily, without any difficulties, it would seem imperceptible, but the effect is felt even because she lost a little weight and lightness appeared inside.

How to take activated charcoal for cleansing.

Charcoal tablets need to be drunk 5-7 grams per day in two or three doses. It is important to take them on an empty stomach. The first intake is 10 tablets in the morning on an empty stomach, it is better to dissolve the tablets in a glass of water. But this is a long story, so I just swallow them with water.

The second intake of the same number of tablets is done in the evening 2-3 hours after a meal.

Do not forget to drink more water throughout the course, which can be 10-14 days.

Activated carbon removes all toxins, acids and other evil spirits from the body. After the course of cleansing, it will be possible to carry out the main treatment of diseases with drugs, their healing effect will increase.

Cleansing the body in this way also helps to lose weight.

External use

Activated carbon in the form of compresses from a powder with a small amount of water is used for various skin inflammations, insect bites, boils. It draws poison through the skin.

The charcoal paste should be applied to damp gauze so that it does not dry out so quickly, cover with plastic and tie.

Activated charcoal for abscess. Mode of application

1. Mix coal powder with crushed plantain leaf in a ratio of 1: 2, make a bandage on the sore spot.
2. With bleeding abscesses, charcoal mixed with an equal amount of honey helps.
3. You can mix crushed coal with grated raw potatoes, which should be taken twice as much coal.
4. Dressings made from charcoal and yarrow herb (1: 2 ratio) are also effective.

Application for inflammation of the gums

You can read about different ways to treat inflammation and bleeding gums.

Let's add one more to them.

Stir a tablespoon of activated carbon powder in a glass of warm water, rinse your mouth with this solution several times a day.

Application for goiter

It is useful to wipe the neck with gruel made from coal and water.

The thick mixture can be applied in the form of a lozenge, fixed and worn until the goiter decreases, changing every two days to a fresh one.

Application for burns and wounds

In both cases, the same affected area must be sprinkled with activated carbon powder.

Charcoal neutralizes the action of harmful microorganisms on wounds, and the pain from a burn will subside after a couple of hours.

Application for boils

Only the last time we had a publication, but then I did not know about activated carbon.

For treatment, you need to mix coal powder with flour and honey to make a cake. Make a compress on the sore spot.

Activated charcoal for acne

Clean your skin with activated charcoal once a month.

Here's a simple procedure: mix a tablet of crushed charcoal with ½ teaspoon of gelatin and a spoonful of water or milk. Place this mass in the microwave for 15 seconds or heat it a little in a water bath so that it acquires a softer consistency.

Then cool slightly and apply on the face skin with hammering movements.

After complete drying, wash off with water.

With activated charcoal and masks for the skin of the face are made, but, perhaps, let this be a topic for a separate conversation.

The use of activated carbon in everyday life

Activated carbon is excellent at fighting mold and the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation from televisions and computers.

An activated carbon tablet prolongs the life of a bouquet placed in a vase of water.

In Japan, charcoal is even laid out in corners in homes and as a useful decor in vases and on televisions.

The Japanese lay coal in the foundations and walls of houses and argue that people living in such houses are less sick and do not get tired.

Let's follow the example of our fellows and will actively use activated carbon in different life situations.

Activated carbon has been known to mankind since ancient times. This is perhaps one of the very first medicines, and for many centuries doctors and herbalists could not find a worthy or replacement for it. But times have changed. Now in pharmacies you can buy a variety of drugs, the action of which is similar to the action of activated carbon. So how was it made before, and how is it made now?

What was activated carbon made of before?

Mankind has learned to use coal for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases for a long time. To obtain such coal, some types of wood were burned: birch, fruit trees. After burning, the coals were steamed at a very high temperature. It was easiest for our ancestors to cook it in a bathhouse, where part of the birch coals was taken from the oven and left in the steam room for the activation process itself. It is distinguished from ordinary coal by its incredibly low weight. And due to the porosity and low weight, the absorbent and absorbent properties of coal are tenfold increased. Coal in those days was used not only as a medicine. They, as well as now, filtered the water, drove alcoholic drinks through it, even treated livestock and poultry with this universal remedy.

What is activated carbon made of today?

But times have changed, and modern technologies have replaced Russian baths. They make it possible to produce a huge amount of activated carbon much faster, but its porosity is invariably higher compared to earlier counterparts. And if earlier the activation of coal was physical, then in modern pharmacology, coal is activated by chemical methods. Although he does not become more dangerous because of this. The process of chemical activation of coal consists in treating the coal mass with a certain composition of salts, as a result of which it is possible to avoid keeping the coal under the pressure of hot steam. Although some companies still practice the physical process of charcoal activation. This process is today called steam-gas activation of coal. It is more environmentally friendly, and such a preparation costs more than chemically activated carbon. The resulting drug can be in the form of tablets, small granules or a simple paste, it all depends on its further use: in the form of filters for liquids, medicines, or in industrial production.

We are all accustomed to the fact that activated carbon is a cheap remedy for poisoning. It is also often taken before a feast so that in the morning the head does not hurt so much after drinking alcohol. What is activated carbon made of and why is it so effective?

The main raw materials for the production of activated carbon are: wood, coal, bituminous coal, coconut shells, etc. The specified raw materials are first charred, then subjected to activation.

Activation consists in opening the closed pores in the coal.

Coal activation is done in several ways:

1. Thermochemically - the material is preliminarily impregnated with a solution of zinc chloride, potassium carbonate or some other compounds, and heated without access to air.
2. By treatment with superheated steam or carbon dioxide or their mixture at a temperature of 800-850 ° C. A widespread method is to supply a limited amount of air to the apparatus for activation simultaneously with saturated steam. Part of the coal burns out, and the required temperature is reached in the reaction space. The output of activated carbon in this process variant is markedly reduced.

Depending on the manufacturing technology, 1 gram of activated carbon can have a surface of 500 to 1500 m². The best brands of activated carbons have a pore surface area of ​​1800-2200 m² per gram of coal.

The use of activated carbon in medicine

Activated carbon has a high surface activity, neutralizes poisons and toxins from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) before their absorption, alkaloids, glycosides, barbiturates and other hypnotics, drugs for general anesthesia, salts of heavy metals, toxins of bacterial, plant, animal origin , derivatives of phenol, hydrocyanic acid, sulfonamides, gases.

When treating poisoning, it is necessary to create an excess of coal in the stomach (before washing it) and in the intestine (after washing the stomach).

Activated carbon is used not only in medicine, here are other areas of its application:

• in gas masks,
• in the production of sugar (purification of sugar syrup from coloring substances),
• for the production of organic fertilizer terra preta,
• chemical and food industries.

Now you know that activated carbon is made from regular carbon by activation. Activate carbon by opening closed pores to increase their number, which in turn leads to better absorption of harmful substances by these pores.

For a better understanding of how activated carbon works, watch the video: