Consumption of baking soda can cause purple fingers - Aleena Ayaz

(1)

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate is a white, odorless powder that can cause the blue or purple coloration of the skin if consumed in excess amounts and this condition is known as cyanosis. This condition results due to lack of oxygen supply in the body because of a really high dosage of sodium bicarbonate (2) Excessive consumption of baking soda can also cause changes like increased urine volume, vomiting, and sodium changes in the body. (3) There is an interesting case that explains what the excess usage of baking soda does to our bodies. A pregnant woman suffered with a disorder known as baking soda pica, in which she consumed one box of baking per day for two months during her pregnancy. This lead to severe metabolic alkalosis and muscle aches but as soon as the doctors started her treatment to stop the consumption of baking soda, she recovered from her condition and delivered a healthy baby. (4) Baking soda is produced by two methods. The first method is called the carbon dioxide method and the second process is the Solvay process discovered by a Belgian scientist to make sodium bicarbonate. (3) Baking soda is most commonly used in baking but it also has other uses. It is used as an antacid to relive heartburn and help with digestion. It is present in animal feed to help them digest the food. It is also found in cleaning products, fire extinguishers, and intravenous lines to help with toxic conditions. (3) Along with the harmful effects of sodium bicarbonate used in higher amounts, there are also some benefits as it is used in IV lines to help with poisoning. Sodium acetate is an alternative that may be used if sodium bicarbonate is not available but it is safe to use sodium bicarbonate in moderate amounts. (5) There is a major controversy with this compound to be used in IV lines for patients with lactic acidosis, which is a condition in which there is a lot of lactic acid buildup in the body. As lactic acidosis has a really high mortality rate, using sodium bicarbonate may enhance the condition and worsen it by interfering with the mechanisms of the body; therefore, the use of sodium bicarbonate in patients with this condition is not advisable. (6) Using baking soda in moderate amounts is acceptable, but consuming a box every day will cause cyanosis and other dangerous conditions like metabolic alkalosis.

References

(1) Cyanosis. (2013, March 7). Cyanosis-adult fingertips [online image]. Retrieved from http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cyanosis-adult_fingertips.PNG

(2) Sodium Bicarbonate. (2003). Screening Information Data Set for High Production Volume Chemicals. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/

(3) Sodium Bicarbonate. (2006). In N. Schlager, J. Weisblatt, & D. E. Newton (Eds.), Chemical Compounds (Vol. 3, pp. 723-727). Detroit: UXL. Retrieved from Gale Virtual Reference Library.

(4) Grotegut, C. A., Dandolu, V., Katari, S., Whiteman, V. E., Geifman-Holtzman, O., & Teitelman, M. (2006). Baking soda pica: A case of hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis and rhabdomyolysis in pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 107(2, Part 2 Suppl), 484-486.

(5) Neavyn, M. J., Boyer, E. W., Bird, S. B., & Babu, K. M. (2013). Sodium acetate as a replacement for sodium bicarbonate in medical toxicology: A review. Journal of Medical Toxicology : Official Journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology, 9(3), 250-254.

(6) Cuhaci, B., Lee, J., & Ahmed, Z. (2000). Sodium bicarbonate controversy in lactic acidosis. Chest, 118(3), 882-883.