Nitroglycerin facts for kids
Nitroglycerin is a powerful, oily liquid. It is clear and quite heavy. This liquid is known for being very explosive. It is made by mixing glycerol with certain acids. Nitroglycerin is very dangerous. It can explode easily.
An Italian chemist named Ascanio Sobrero first made nitroglycerin in 1847. Later, in 1867, Alfred Nobel found a way to make it safer. He mixed it with other materials to create dynamite. Dynamite became one of the most famous explosives ever.
How Nitroglycerin Helps in Medicine
Nitroglycerin is also used as a medicine. It works as a vasodilator. This means it helps make your blood vessels wider. When blood vessels get wider, blood can flow through them more easily.
Treating Heart Problems
Nitroglycerin is often used for chest pain called angina. It also helps with some heart attacks. These problems happen because of coronary artery disease. This disease makes the blood vessels that bring blood to your heart become narrow.
When your heart does not get enough blood and oxygen, you can feel chest pain (angina) or have a heart attack. Taking nitroglycerin makes these narrow blood vessels wider again. This allows more blood and oxygen to reach your heart.
Sometimes, doctors use nitroglycerin in emergencies. It can help with other health issues caused by narrow blood vessels.
Images for kids
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Nitroglycerin can be given in different ways, like through a vein, as a spray under the tongue, or as a patch on the skin.
See also
In Spanish: Nitroglicerina para niños
