I have on occasion been given it as a child in tablets and I can tell you that it has almost no taste.Medical applications
Activated carbon is used to treat poisonings and overdoses following oral ingestion. It prevents absorption of the poison by the gastrointestinal tract. In cases of suspected poisoning, medical personnel either administer activated carbon on the scene or at a hospitals emergency department. Activated carbon has become the treatment of choice for many poisonings, and other decontamination methods such as ipecac induced emesis or stomach pumps are now used rarely. The recommended dose in adults is 25 to 100 grams. Pediatric dosages are 10 to 50 g or 0.5 to 1.0 g/kg. Incorrect application (e.g. into to the lungs) results in pulmonary aspiration which can sometimes be fatal if immediate medical treatment is not initiated.
For pre-hospital use, it comes in plastic tubes or bottles, commonly 12.5 or 25 grams, pre-mixed with water. The trade names include InstaChar, SuperChar, Actidose, and Liqui-Char, but it is commonly called simply Activated Charcoal.
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