Question

The 'blue baby' syndrome results from -

• A. Excess of TDS (total dissolved solids)
• B. Excess of chloride
• C. Methaemoglobin
• D. Excess of dissolved oxygen

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Methaemoglobin

Answer 2

Blue baby syndrome is used to describe newborns with cyanotic conditions. It is a pathological condition in which blood's capacity for oxygen transport is Human Health and Diseases 419 reduced, resulting in bluish skin in infants. Blue baby syndrome begins when large amounts of nitrates in water are ingested by an infant and converted to nitrite by the digestive system. The nitrite then reacts with oxyhaemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying blood protein) to form methaemoglobin, which cannot carry oxygen. If a large enough amount of metheglobin is formed in the blood, body tissues may be deprived of oxygen, causing the infant to develop a blue coloration of their mucous membranes and possibly digestive and respiratory problems. Methaemoglobin is a form of the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin, in which the iron in the haem group is in the Fe3+ state, not the Fe2+ of normal haemoglobin.