What is chloroform used for?

Chloroform is used as a solvent, a substance that helps other substances dissolve. Also, it is used in the building, paper and board industries, and in pesticide and film production. It is used as a solvent for lacquers, floor polishes, resins, adhesives, alkaloids, fats, oils and rubber.

When was chloroform last used?

Between about 1865 and 1920, chloroform was used in 80 to 95% of all narcoses performed in UK and German-speaking countries. In America, however, there was less enthusiasm for chloroform narcosis.

What is the effect of chloroform?

Chronic (long-term) exposure to chloroform by inhalation in humans has resulted in effects on the liver, including hepatitis and jaundice, and central nervous system effects, such as depression and irritability.

Will chloroform help me sleep?

An anesthetist at Mulago Hospital, who prefers anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, estimates that 10ml of chloroform can make someone sleep either through inhalation or in a drink.

What happen if you smell chloroform?

Summary of Health Effects Local effects following inhalation of chloroform include shortness of breath and irritation of the nose and throat. Acute inhalation can cause systemic effects such as, excitement, nausea and vomiting followed by ataxia, dizziness, drowsiness.

What is the alternative to chloroform?

The results indicate that halothane and eucalyptol are suitable alternatives to chloroform as gutta-percha softening solvents.

Is chloroform a good Anaesthetic?

Chloroform and halothane are potent anaesthetic agents which are also chemically related. Halothane was introduced into clinical anaesthesia in 1956 at a time when anaesthesia had been fully developed. Chloroform was first used in 1847 by James Young Simpson when anaesthesia was in its infancy.

When was chloroform made in the United States?

Chloroform was first produced in the United States in 1903, and exports of chloroform continue to number in the millions of pounds [19,266,267]. Until 2010, chloroform was primarily made during the production of the refrigerant, chlorodifluoromethane [19,266].

How is deuterochloroform produced in the haloform reaction?

Deuterochloroform is produced by the haloform reaction, the reaction of acetone (or ethanol) with sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite. The haloform process is now obsolete for the production of ordinary chloroform.

When did chloroform replace ether as an anesthetic?

In the United States, chloroform began to replace ether as an anesthetic at the beginning of the 20th century; however, it was quickly abandoned in favor of ether upon discovery of its toxicity, especially its tendency to cause fatal cardiac arrhythmia analogous to what is now termed “sudden sniffer’s death”.

When did Robert Mortimer Glover invent chloroform?

In 1842, Robert Mortimer Glover in London discovered the anaesthetic qualities of chloroform on laboratory animals.