What does VX look like?

VX is odorless and tasteless. VX is an oily liquid that is amber in color and very slow to evaporate. It evaporates about as slowly as motor oil.

Can you survive VX nerve agent?

VX is a “particularly toxic nerve agent”. The potentially fatal dose is only slightly higher than the dose having any effect at all, and the effects of a fatal dose are so rapid that there is little time for treatment.

What are the symptoms of nerve agent exposure?

Regardless of the route of exposure, nerve agents can cause the following characteristic effects:

• pinpoint pupils of the eye.
• excessive production of mucous, tears, saliva and sweat.
• headache.
• stomach pain, nausea and vomiting.
• chest tightness and shortness of breath.
• loss of bladder and bowel control.
• muscle twitching.

What does VX gas do to the human body?

VX is a yellowish, odourless and tasteless liquid that disrupts the body’s nervous system to lethal effect. Ten milligrams is enough to kill a person through skin contact although it can also kill through inhalation.

Can VX be aerosolized?

Indoor Air: VX can be released into indoor air as a liquid spray (aerosol) or as a vapor when temperatures are high.

Is there an antidote for VX?

Are there any antidotes? Injections of atropine, if administered quickly after exposure, can counteract the lethal effects of VX. The drug counteracts VX’s effects on a neurotransmitter, while another drug, pralidoxime, counteracts enzyme-related effects, allowing cells to resume functioning normally.

What does VX mean in China?

WeChat (Chinese: 微信; pinyin: Wēixìn) colloquially referred to as “VX”, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent.

How does a nerve agent affect the body?

The chemicals work by disrupting the central nervous system. The body uses a molecule called acetylcholine to send messages between cells—when an acetylcholine molecule arrives, it causes an electrical impulse to be sent.

How much VX is lethal?

approximately 6 to 10 milligrams
The median lethal dose of VX for humans is approximately 6 to 10 milligrams by dermal exposure. Absorption is rapid (seconds to minutes) by inhalation but is significantly slower (minutes to hours) by dermal exposure. V-series nerve agents are odorless and tasteless.

How is VX administered?

The lethal dose for VX ranges from about 10 milligrams via skin contact to 25 to 30 milligrams if inhaled. Early symptoms can include pinprick pupils, runny nose, wheezing and muscle twitching. Death can occur anywhere from within a few minutes to hours, depending on the dose and the method of contact.

Who made VX?

Ranaji Ghosh
VX was first synthesised in the early to mid-1950s by Ranaji Ghosh, a chemist working for Imperial Chemical Industries in Britain.