Is it possible to catch a cold by inhaling an inorganic salt? [closed]








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My instructor once while teaching qualitative analysis told us that there's a salt in laboratory which, if inhaled, causes cold and cough. Is that true? Because today I was identifying a salt in the lab which was $\ce{AlCl3}$ and now I can feel that I've cold and cough. Is it true? Could there be any connection? 




A "cold" is viral infection of the respiratory tract. That is: it is caused by a virus (and the human body's inability to protect itself from it) and affects the nose, throat and/or lungs. I *hope* you are not asking whether a chemical compound (a salt) is a virus. Part of our bodies immune response is the mucus that coats our nasal passages and throat, the lungs have a similar protective layer. Inhalation of a wide variety of chemical compounds can damage the mucal layer (reduce our immune response) allowing a virus to gain a foothold. Inhalation of a variety of chemicals (most chemicals) is TOXIC and will damage or kill healthy tissue. You are sadly mistaken if you think your question has anything to do with qualitative analysis. It is a question about lab safety, or if your knowledge of human health is limited, as it seems it is, a question of medicine and health. AlCl3 shouldn't be inhaled. It reacts with water to form hydrochloric acid. You should have learned this, if you are working with it. If your teacher is so incompetent that he didn't teach you this, your parents should report him to his superiors. A fume of it can kill you (it would take a lot, not likely in qualitative analysis lab), and lesser concentrations will ...surprise, surprise, damage your lungs.


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