Chloroform as an Anesthetic

[monkeybird]

Having listen to all the hullabaloo about the trail of Casey Anthony, I wonder how easy it is to make chloroform. Well, not hard at all. Any high school chemistry student could make it with ease.

The reason I was interested is because, ether, while possible to make, is a whole lot more complicated, and the need for some sort of anesthesia in the PAW is obvious.

I won't give you links, just google it. You'll find everything from YouTube to serious scientific articles.

A word of caution, child molesters use home made chloroform to anesthetize children and to induce forgetfulness. I learned this from the Anthony trial. It would have never entered my mind.

Chloroform requires careful monitoring of the patient and should only be administered by someone who can take and understand vital signs and then only in the direst of circumstances.

In the late 1800, chloroform was readily available. People used it to euthanize their animals. Just put the animal in a box with bedding saturated with chloroform. The animal will sleep, and eventually die from the chloroform. (Read this in one of the Anne of Green Gable novels)

The only way to purchase it is if you are a school, university, medical facility etc.

What do you EMT think?

[Fido]

Don't know that much about it. However, dispensing anesthetics without being fully educated on the properties of the chemical its effect on the body and associated side effects would be totally irresponsible.
We've all seen TV shows and movies where someone will pour chloroform onto a rag and hold it over someones mouth and knock them out. I don't know how well that works or if you risk killing them if you hold it on too long. (Seeing as that is how they are hypothesizing the murder previously mentioned took place, I will assume it can happen.) However surgical anesthesia is usually a continous dosage of the medication to keep the patient at a certain level of responsiveness. The TV technique would not be appropriate for surgery as the patient would probably wake up at a bad time.
Without the proper equipment to do this, I would be very cautious of even thinking of trying it.
There is a reason M.D.'s go to school for such a long time. Advanced procedures and techniques such as anesthesia and surgery performed by lay people will cause as much death as the injuries themselves. You cannot really learn this stuff without formal education and supervised practice.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Know how to monitor your patient very carefully, as with any anesthesia being used.

A little more about Chloroform

[Urban Survivalist]

If you need chlorofrom in the PAW try to find a police vehicle and look for a drug field test kit, one of the vials in the kit contain chlorofrom. It is a small amount but several test kits will have enough to get the job done incase you need to set a broken bone on someone or things of the like.

[monkeybird]

That excellent information. Are you a police officer?

[Matt In Oklahoma]

If you need chlorofrom in the PAW try to find a police vehicle and look for a drug field test kit, one of the vials in the kit contain chlorofrom. It is a small amount but several test kits will have enough to get the job done incase you need to set a broken bone on someone or things of the like.

NIK Test kit "E" the one used for green leafy substances with seeds, though I doubt you will find enough to be effective. I have a hard time imagining how bad it would have to be for this where this would even be possible or worthwhile.