Potassium chlorate in hospitals??

Question

My teacher mentioned about using Potassium chlorate in hospitals, but she didnt tell us anythin more particular.

Answer 1

I think you might have meant potassium chloride.

It can be diluted in an IV (intravenous bag) to bring up a patients potassium level and to get some fluids in the patient (re-hydrate them).

It can be give as a bolus. This is basically a smaller IV bag that is given pretty quickly to bring the potassium levels up more quickly.

It can also be given as a tablet. The brand name is K-Dur or Klor-Con.

Answer 2

Experimenting with potassium chloride instead of potassium chlorate would not be as dangerous as if the student did it the other way around. This is because potassium chlorate is a strong oxidizer, can start fires easily, is hazardous for the environment, and can be a constituent in dangerous mixtures whereas potassium chloride has none of the above attributes. If the student tested the composition of the potassium chloride, he probably did this by heating it in the crucible. At first nothing would happen and then with enough heat the potassium chloride would have melted. Heating potassium chlorate would have generated oxygen gas and left potassium chloride.

Answer 3

potassium chloride (NOT chlorate) is used to treat hypokalemia, or low potassium levels in a patient's blood test. potassium chloride can be administered orally or via an IV, but in IV form it must be given slowly. rapid bolus administration of potassium will cause cardiac arrest.

Answer 4

Primarily as a disinfectant.