Home > Chloral hydrate

It is used for the short-term treatment of insomnia and as a sedative before minor medical or dental treatment. It has been largely displaced by the development of benzodiazepines. It is also used as in veterinary medicine as a general anesthetic.

In therapeutic doses for insomnia it is effective within sixty minutes, it is rapidly metabolized into trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid. Higher doses can depress respiration and blood pressure. An overdose is marked by confusion, convulsions, nausea and vomitingVomiting (or emesis is the forceful expulsion through the mouth of the contents of one's stomach. It is a mechanism for expelling ingested illness-causing food poisons. The act may be triggered by stimuli which might indicate the possibility of poisoning,, severe drowsiness, slow and irregular breathing, cardiac arrhythmiaA cardiac arrhythmia also called cardiac dysrhythmia, is a disturbance in the regular rhythm of the heartbeat. Several forms of cardiac arrhythmia are life-threatening and a medical emergency. Frequency too high/low A rhythm of the heart at a rate of more and weakness. It may also cause liverThe liver is an organ in vertebrates including humans. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body including detoxification, glycogen storage and plasma protein synthesis. It also produces bile which is important for dige damage. It is moderately addictive. ChronicIn medicine, a persistent and lasting condition is said to be chronic (from Greek chronos . For example, a chronic illness is one that persists for a long time, usually more than three months. By analogy, this adjective has come to describe problems which use can cause dependencyIn project management, a dependency is a link amongst a project's terminal elements. There are four kinds of dependencies with respect to ordering terminal elements (in order of decreasing frequency of use): # Finish to start (FS) # A FS B B doesn't start and withdrawalWhen an addictive behavior is stopped or an addictive substance is withdrawn from use, withdrawal symptoms almost always follow. Depending on the behavior or substance, these symptoms can appear within a few hours ( nicotine) or over a few days or weeks ( symptoms. It can potentiate various anticoagulantAn anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting. A group of pharmaceuticals called anticoagulants can be used in vivo as a medication for thrombotic disorders. Some chemical compounds are used in medical eqs and is weakly mutagenic in vitro and in vivo.

It was discovered through the chlorination of ethanol in 1832 by Justus von Liebig in Giessen. It was widely abused and misprescribed in the late 19th century.

Mixed with alcohol it was the first " Mickey Finn".

It is a minor side-product of the chlorination of water; concentrations rarely exceed 5μg per litre.

The anhydrous form is an intermediate in insecticide and herbicide manufacture (including DDT, dichlorvos , and naled ).

Chloral hydrate is a schedule IV controlled substance in the United States.