A few points that makes this look less pretty ... I know some of this SN stuff is all over the forum. I have taken a few liberties with sources. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Basically, sodium nitrate poisoning is poisoning by nitrite poisoning.
https://www.symptoma.com/en/info/nitrite-poisoning
Lack of oxygen is the cause of death.
https://www.spinalcord.com/blog/what-happens-after-a-lack-of-oxygen-to-the-brain
I guess this is about complete oxygen deprivation.
Between 30-180 seconds of oxygen deprivation, you may lose consciousness.
- At the one-minute mark, brain cells begin dying.
- At three minutes, neurons suffer more extensive damage, and lasting brain damage becomes more likely.
- At five minutes, death becomes imminent.
- At 10 minutes, even if the brain remains alive, a coma and lasting brain damage are almost inevitable.
- At 15 minutes, survival becomes nearly impossible.
Several:
https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/f?./temp/~PsiZ8r:3
Onset of action appears not to be quick, not always !
Possibly liver, kidney damage. Others ? Cause: hypoxia or nitrite poisoning.
ExitActBC.pdf
Excerpt ‘
Absorbtion and toxicity of the salt can be enhanced by raising the gastric pH by taking some sodium bicarbonate prior to the nitrite drink. ‘ True or not ?
Sodium azide, mostly unrelatedby in the same pdf: ‘is more toxic that nitrite, and must be handled with more care. It finds use as a laboratory bacteriostatic and its past use in car airbags mean that it can be readily sourced on the internet with few restriction in its purchase. A few grams of azide dissolved in water when drunk will bring about rapid death. The salt causes cellular death by binding to cytochrome enzyme; cells with the highest oxygen needs are most vulnerable (eg heart and brain). ‘