Hello! I saw this question and instantly knew I could help. I recently took a course on toxic gasses and poisons. Here's what I know.
It can be swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through skin. It is generally released from its host compound by acids, such as the hydrochloric acid found in the stomach. The poison in the seeds is released only if the seeds are chewed.
Effects and symptoms: Cyanide prevents the red blood cells from absorbing oxygen. It's called chemical asphyxia. Smelling of a toxic dose of the gas can cause immediate unconsciousness, convulsions and death within one to fifteen minutes. If swallowed a fatal dose can take up to twenty minutes or longer, esp. if swallowed on a full stomach. If a near-lethal dose is absorbed through the skin, inhaled or swallowed the symptoms will include gasping for breath, dizziness, flushing, headache, nausea, vomiting, rapid pulse, and a drop in blood pressure causing fainting. <span>With a lethal dose, convulsions with in four hours, except in the case of sodium nitroprusside, when death can be delayed as long as 12 hours after ingestion. </span>The victims blood may appear purple or cherry red, as in carbon monoxide poisoning, and the corpse may have pinker than normal skin. <span>the famous bitter almond odor can be a clue and maybe noticeable at autopsy, but not everyone is capable of smelling it.
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