ACUTE SORE THROATS FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO SELENIUM

Abstract

Certain symptoms in man following exposure to selenium have been reported, such as pallor, coated tongue, gastro-intestinal disorders, nervousness and garlicky odor of the breath,¹but no mention has been found of acute sore throat. Hofmeister²found that selenium was eliminated from the body by the lungs, urine and feces in the form of a methyl compound (methyl selenide) which is volatile and gives rise to a disagreeable odor resembling garlic. Acute sore throats have been repeatedly observed in this laboratory following exposure to selenium, especially in the form eliminated from experimental animals through the lungs. One of us (H. L. M.) had three very definite attacks of sore throat following exposure, another (M. M. E.) had two attacks and the other (M. D. E.) had two attacks. In the case of the latter the attacks were milder than in the first two. The laboratory technician had two