Well , for one thing , you ’d be eating a misnomer . Silica gel is n’t actually a gel , but a grainy form ofsilicon dioxide(SiO2 ) , a chemical compound formed when silicon is oxidise . Â Silica colloidal gel is man-made but SiO2is also commonly chance in nature ( I commit you ’ve hear of sand and lechatelierite . )
But before we hash out the consequences of ingestion , here ’s a quick history lesson . Silica gel has been around since at least the 1600s , but was a scientific curiosity until its absorbent material attribute were put to employment during World War I in gas mask canisters . Walter Patrick , a chemistry prof at Johns Hopkins University , patented silica gel in 1919 and join with Grace Davison , a Maryland - based chemical troupe , to further develop it . Davison began selling silica gel in 1923 but it did n’t take off until World War II .
Silica gel can engross a lot of H2O — about a third of its weight — without undergoing a chemical reaction or exchange shape . Even when they ’re saturated , the granules stay dry to the touch and can be recycle after heating at 250Â Â ° F for two hours . These properties make silica gel extremely utilitarian for controlling wet and humidity , and during the war it was used to keep medicine , military equipment and supplying dry .
Today it ’s packaged with leather product , pepperoni , electronics and vitamin pills and used in museum and library to guard against rust fungus , corrosion , tarnishing , mildew , mold and spoilage .
Risk Assessment
So what happens if you decide to hold the warning on the packet , defy the societal norms of genteel society and munch on a few granules ? I detest to be anti - climactic , but most likely , the answer is " ¦ nothing!(Of course , there are some caveat , which we ’ll get to in a minute . )
If you call up about it , silica gel is basically homo - made backbone . It ’s non - toxic and chemically non - reactive . People who have eaten anywhere from a few drop to a whole parcel have cover no inauspicious effects . If you ’re peculiar , it ’s reportedly almost tasteless , like licking a postage stamp .
Why the Skull & Crossbones?
Why the warnings , then ? Well , silica gel is n’t completely dangerous , but it is n’t completely safe . Here are a few reasons the packet come with unforgiving warnings :
Dehydration " “ Silica gel ’s job is to absorb moisture , and it ’s going to keep doing that as you digest it . You ’d have to eat an awful pile of it to dehydrate yourself , but if you did , it would dry out you out in no time .
Silicosis " “ This lung disease , also called Grinder ’s disease and Potter ’s buncombe , is triggered by inspire silica dust and causes symptom like pock and nodulated lesions in the upper lobe of the lung , shortness of breath , fever , and cyanosis ( blue tinted skin ) .
Foreign vapors and toxic additives " “ You do n’t know what the silica gel was exposed to between Point A and Point B. Eating a packet that came in a box of roach traps is decidedly not advocate , but the gelatin could have absorbed other nasty stuff during manufacture or shipping and steep it . Sometimes , these things are supply intentionally and packaged silica gel might have a bit of fungicide or pesticide lend to it .
Another additive to watch out for is cobalt(II ) chloride , which is toxic . This is tote up to the gel when a seeable reading of immersion is needed . The cobalt(II ) chloride makes the granules blue when they ’re juiceless and become pink when they ’re saturated .
And the bountiful reason ? cause ! " “ Even if the contents of a bundle are plain old silica gel with no cobalt(II ) chloride , and there ’s no silica dust present and there are n’t enough granules to do desiccation , companies have been sued over far stupider things . They ’re just address their butts .
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