Natalia A. immigrated from Russia and has lived in the U.S. for over ten years.
She works as the head of the Free Russia Foundation (a U.S.-based non-profit that works against Russian oppression).
Recently, Natalia was traveling in Europe, where she believes she was poisoned with a nerve agent.
Natalia said her poisoning has been investigated by a Western intelligence agency. She said she still suffers from the effects of the poison.
It started when Natalia returned to her hotel room while traveling in Europe. Her hotel room door was open.
When she went inside, she checked the room for listening devices, but the only thing she noticed was a strange odor in the room.
However, early the next morning, Natalia woke up with strange pains. She then flew to the U.S. where she sought medical attention.
Testing by U.S. doctors didn’t discover any traces of poison, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
You see, the Russian government has been targeting people who oppose them with poison for over a century.
In 1921, the Soviet Union created Lab X.
The department targeted enemies of the country with poison. And Russia’s poisoners are still active to this day.
In fact, since Russia invaded Ukraine, there have been poisonings against those who oppose the war and the government in general.
But even if you aren’t the focus of the Russian government, some people attempt to harm others by poisoning since it’s more discrete and less violent.
The scary truth is, statistically, senior citizens suffer a significantly higher rate of intentional poisoning than the general population.
Medications and biological substances are used in about 65% of intentional poisoning.
If you’re concerned you could be the victim of poisoning, or that someone is plotting to harm you, here are some signs to watch out for.
Someone is overly nice:
Someone who is trying to poison another person will usually be exceptionally nice to the victim. They want to be pleasant so as not to draw any suspicions.
For example, if your spouse brings you breakfast in bed, or a co-worker makes you lunch, this could be a red flag (if it’s out of normal behavior).
My point is that if these are things the person has never done before there could be a reason that they are being unusually nice.
The key to look out for is the timing.
If you start feeling sick soon after you eat lunch or drink the water that the person poured for you then you should stop taking food from them.
In fact, you should be cautious of anything they give you.
Brushing your teeth hurts:
A woman in Tennessee noticed that when she brushed her teeth, she would start with a headache that would last the whole day.
Turns out her husband was poisoning her toothpaste.
Toothpaste has a pretty overwhelming taste to it, so if someone mixed poison with toothpaste it would be difficult to notice an odd flavor.
But, depending on the poison it could react with the toothpaste.
So, if you notice a burning sensation when brushing your teeth, you should immediately stop and investigate the toothpaste.
If nothing stands out, keep it for evidence in case symptoms worsen.
Either way, discontinue using that tube of toothpaste. Go buy new toothpaste from the store, don’t even risk switching to another tube you may have stashed in a drawer.
Drinks taste bitter:
Most people have a beverage preference. From coffee to soda the majority of people have a drink that they enjoy in the morning or with meals.
The fact that poison mixes quickly and easily into a drink makes it one of the more common ways that someone will poison another person.
Plus, if done over time, it can take months for someone to feel sick from poison administered in drinks.
For instance, antifreeze is odorless, colorless, and sweet tasting, and it can eventually kill.
The thing is that if you drink soda every morning you should know exactly what it tastes like.
If it ever smells or tastes different, don’t drink it. Get a new unopened soda. Also, if the drink tastes bitter this is a telltale sign that someone has added poison.
Poison has been used to carry out crimes for centuries. It can be done undetected and there are not always blatant warning signs.
These tips can help you pinpoint if someone might be trying to harm you.
Now, maybe, you noticed that a lot of these tips had to do with being “situationally aware.”
You notice a change in behavior, a subtle change in taste, or color, or feel of something familiar.
Those types of small changes from normal day to day patterns, or the sudden alarm bell ringing in the back of your mind that something isn’t right…
Are the exact same things that keep spies and covert operatives alive in the field in the most hostile environments on the planet.
