What Is Activated Charcoal?
Activated charcoal is a fine black powder made from bone char, coconut shells, peat, petroleum coke, coal, olive pits or sawdust.
The charcoal is activated by processing it at very high temperatures. The high temperatures change its internal structure, reducing the size of its pores and increasing its surface area
This results in a charcoal that is more porous than regular charcoal.
Activated charcoal shouldn’t be confused with charcoal briquettes that are used to light your barbecue.
While both can be made from the same base materials, charcoal briquettes have not been activated at high temperatures. Moreover, they contain additional substances that are toxic to humans.
Activated charcoal is sometimes used to help treat a drug overdose or a poisoning.
When you take activated charcoal, drugs and toxins can bind to it. This helps rid the body of unwanted substances.
Charcoal is made from coal, wood, or other substances. It becomes “activated charcoal” when high temperatures combine with a gas or activating agent to expand its surface area.
Activated charcoal US Brand Name
- Actidose-Aqua
- Charcoal
- Diarrest
- Di-Gon II
- Donnagel
- EZ-Char
- Kaodene NN
- Kaolinpec
- Kaopectate
- Kaopek
- Kerr Insta-Char
Canadian Brand Name
- Aqueous Charcodote Adult
- Aqueous Charcodote Pediatric
- Charcodote
- Charcodote Pediatric
- Charcodote Tfs
- Charcodote Tfs Pediatric
Descriptions
Activated charcoal is used in the emergency treatment of certain kinds of poisoning. It helps prevent the poison from being absorbed from the stomach into the body. Sometimes, several doses of activated charcoal are needed to treat severe poisoning. Ordinarily, this medicine is not effective and should not be used in poisoning if corrosive agents such as alkalis (lye) and strong acids, iron, boric acid, lithium, petroleum products (e.g., cleaning fluid, coal oil, fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, paint thinner), or alcohols have been swallowed, since it will not prevent these poisons from being absorbed into the body.
Some activated charcoal products contain sorbitol. Sorbitol is a sweetener. It also works as a laxative, for the elimination of the poison from the body.Products that contain sorbitol should be given only under the direct supervision of a doctor because severe diarrhea and vomiting may result.
Activated charcoal has not been shown to be effective in relieving diarrhea and intestinal gas.
Activated charcoal may be available without a doctor’s prescription; however, before using this medicine, call a poison control center, your doctor, or an emergency room for advice.
This product is available in the following dosage forms:
- Suspension
- Powder for Suspension
How Does Activated Charcoal Work?
Activated charcoal works by trapping toxins and chemicals in the gut, preventing their absorption.
The charcoal’s porous texture has a negative electrical charge, which causes it to attract positively charged molecules, such as toxins and gases. This helps it trap toxins and chemicals in the gut.
Because activated charcoal is not absorbed by your body, it can carry the toxins bound to its surface out of your body in feces.
Why do people take activated charcoal?
People take activated charcoal to manage a poisoning or overdose.
When used along with other treatments, activated charcoal may be effective for an acute poisoning. But it is NOT useful in some cases, including poisoning from:
- Cyanide
- Lithium
- Alcohol
- Iron tablets
It also is not used to treat poisons such as strong acids or bases.
With a poisoning, don’t guess about the right thing to do. Call your local poison control center immediately. And get to an emergency room. You need to use activated charcoal as soon as possible if it is recommended.
Other less studied uses of activated charcoal include:
- Treat a condition of pregnancy in which the normal flow of bile is affected (cholestasis)
- Prevent gas
- Reduce high cholesterol
- Prevent a hangover
Early research about using activated charcoal to treat cholestasis of pregnancy is very limited. More studies are needed to prove its safety and effectiveness.
It’s not clear whether activated charcoal helps improve gas and cholesterol. That’s because the research results so far have been inconsistent.
As for hangover remedies with activated charcoal, there isn’t really any evidence that it works.
The activated charcoal that is used to treat a poisoning is a powder that is mixed with a liquid. Once mixed, it can be given as a drink or through a tube that has been placed through the mouth and into the stomach.
Activated charcoal is also available in tablet or capsule forms to treat gas. This form is not used to treat a poisoning.
Activated Charcoal as an Emergency Poison Treatment
Thanks to its toxin-binding properties, activated charcoal has a variety of medical uses.
For instance, activated charcoal is often used in cases of poisoning.
That’s because it can bind a wide variety of drugs, reducing their effects. In humans, activated charcoal has been used as a poison antidote since the early 1800s.
It may be used to treat prescription drugs overdoses, as well as overdoses of over-the-counter medications like aspirin, acetaminophen and sedatives.
For instance, studies show that when a single dose of 50–100 grams of activated charcoal is taken within five minutes of drug ingestion, it may reduce drug absorption in adults by up to 74% .
This effect decreases to around 50% when the charcoal is taken 30 minutes after drug ingestion and 20% if it’s taken three hours after the drug overdose .
The initial dose of 50–100 grams is sometimes followed by two to six doses of 30–50 grams every two to six hours. However, this multiple dosage protocol is used less often and may only be effective in a limited number of poisoning cases .
It’s important to note that activated charcoal is not effective in all cases of poisoning. For instance, it appears to have little effect on alcohol, heavy metal, iron, lithium, potassium, acid or alkali poisonings.
What’s more, experts warn that activated charcoal shouldn’t be routinely administered in all cases of poisoning. Rather, its use should be considered on a case-by-case basis .
Activated Carbon May Promote Kidney Function
Activated charcoal may help promote kidney function by reducing the number of waste products that the kidneys have to filter.
This could be particularly beneficial in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease, a condition in which the kidneys can no longer properly filter waste products.
Healthy kidneys are normally very well equipped to filter your blood without any additional help. However, patients suffering from chronic kidney disease generally have a harder time removing urea and other toxins from the body.
Activated charcoal may have the ability to bind to urea and other toxins, helping your body eliminate them.
Urea and other waste products can pass from the bloodstream into the gut through a process known as diffusion. In the gut, they become bound to activated charcoal and excreted in the feces .
In humans, activated charcoal has been shown to help improve kidney function in those suffering from chronic kidney disease.
In one study, activated charcoal supplements may have helped lower blood levels of urea and other waste products in patients with end-stage kidney disease.
That said, the current evidence is weak, and more high-quality studies are needed before strong conclusions can be made.
Reduces Symptoms of Fish Odor Syndrome
Activated charcoal may help reduce unpleasant odors in individuals suffering from trimethylaminuria (TMAU), also known as fish odor syndrome.
TMAU is a genetic condition in which trimethylamine (TMA), a compound with an odor similar to that of rotting fish, accumulates in the body.
Healthy individuals are usually able to convert fishy-smelling TMA into a non-smelly compound before excreting it in urine. However, people with TMAU lack the enzyme needed to perform this conversion.
This causes TMA to accumulate in the body and make its way into urine, sweat and breath, giving rise to a foul, fishy odor (13Trusted Source).
Studies show that activated charcoal’s porous surface may help bind small odorous compounds like TMA, increasing their excretion.
One small study in TMAU patients analyzed the effects of supplementing with 1.5 grams of charcoal for 10 days. It reduced TMA concentrations in the patients’ urine to levels found in healthy individuals (14Trusted Source).
These results seem promising, but more studies are needed.
Activated charcoal may also help reduce cholesterol levels.
That’s because it can bind cholesterol and cholesterol-containing bile acids in the gut, preventing the body from absorbing them (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).
In one study, taking 24 grams of activated charcoal per day for four weeks lowered total cholesterol by 25% and bad LDL cholesterol by 25%. Good HDL cholesterol levels also increased by 8% (17Trusted Source).
In another study, taking 4–32 grams of activated charcoal daily helped reduce total and bad LDL cholesterol by 29–41% in those with high cholesterol levels (18Trusted Source).
In this study, the larger dosages of activated charcoal seemed the most effective.
Similar results were reported in most, but not all, studies (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source, 21).
However, it’s interesting to note that all studies related to this topic were conducted in the 1980s. More recent studies would help confirm the link.
Other Uses of Activated Carbon ?
Activated charcoal is also a popular home remedy with multiple uses, though it’s important to note that not all of these are supported by science.
Its most well-known home uses include:
- Gas reduction: Some studies report that activated charcoal may help reduce gas production following a gas-producing meal. It may also help improve the odor of gas. However, not all studies observed this benefit (22, 23Trusted Source).
- Water filtration: Activated charcoal is a popular way to reduce heavy metal and fluoride content in water. However, it doesn’t appear to be very effective at removing viruses, bacteria or hard water minerals (4, 24, 25Trusted Source).
- Tooth whitening: Using activated charcoal to brush your teeth is anecdotally said to whiten them. It’s said to do so by absorbing plaque and other teeth-staining compounds. However, no studies could be found to support this claim.
- Hangover prevention: Activated charcoal is sometimes used as a hangover cure. While consuming it with alcohol may reduce blood alcohol levels, its effects on hangovers haven’t been studied (26Trusted Source).
- Skin treatment:Â Applying this charcoal to the skin is touted as an effective treatment for acne and insect or snake bites. However, only anecdotal reports could be found on this topic.
Can you get activated charcoal naturally from foods?
Dosage Instructions
Those interested in trying activated charcoal can find a wide selection of it on Amazon. Make sure to follow dosage instructions similar to those used in the studies mentioned above.
In the case of drug poisoning, it’s important to seek medical help immediately.
A dosage of 50–100 grams can be administered by a medical professional, ideally within an hour of the overdose. Children normally receive a lower dose of 10–25 grams (8Trusted Source).
Dosages for other conditions range from 1.5 grams to treat fishy odor disease to 4–32 grams per day to lower cholesterol and promote kidney function in end-stage kidney disease (11Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).
Activated charcoal supplements can be found in pill or powder forms. When taken as a powder, activated charcoal may be mixed with water or a non-acidic juice.
Also, increasing your water intake may help prevent symptoms of constipation.
What are the risks of taking activated charcoal?
When used to treat a poisoning or overdose, activated charcoal is usually safe, but it needs to be administered only in a health care facility.
Side effects are more likely when it is used on a long-term basis to treat conditions like excess gas.
Side effects. When you take it by mouth, activated charcoal can cause:
- Black stools
- Black tongue
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Constipation
In more serious cases, it can cause gastrointestinal blockages.
Risks. Do not combine activated charcoal with drugs used for constipation (cathartics such as sorbitol or magnesium citrate). This can cause electrolyte imbalances and other problems.
Interactions. Activated charcoal may reduce or prevent the absorption of certain drugs. This may include drugs such as:
- Acetaminophen
- Digoxin
- Theophylline
- Tricyclic antidepressants
Do not use activated charcoal as a supplement if you take these medications. Activated charcoal may also reduce absorption of certain nutrients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does regulate dietary supplements; however, it treats them like foods rather than medications. Unlike drug manufacturers, the makers of supplements don’t have to show their products are safe or effective before selling them on the market.
Be sure to tell your doctor about any supplement you’re taking, even if it’s natural. That way, your doctor can check on any potential side effects or interactions with medications, foods, or other herbs and supplements. They can let you know if the supplement might increase your risks.
