More warnings about lead toxicity in children and adults
Although it is many years since we got rid of lead in our petrol and there is stricter control of lead in everything from cosmetics to house paint, the problem, in my opinion, is still wreaking widespread havoc on health.
Here are three recent examples (permission obtained from patients to use these charts):
Home renovators take care!
One baby and toddler, both with widespread eczema and food allergies. Parents and doctors at a loss to do anything other than relieve symptoms. Parents did vaguely suspect lead (Pb) because the problems seemed to coincide with renovations of their home, including sanding and painting. We tested the older of the children, plus the mother and "bingo!" - toxic levels of lead and even some arsenic (As), both consistent with home renovations and babies exposed to the dust. Referring to the chart above, the elevated Na and K are indicative that this child is very stressed adrenally, presumably from the lead. Eczema and digestive upset are associated with lead and arsenic.
This is the tissue mineral analysis for the children's mother. This is consistent with lead exposure during home renovations. Her levels may be lower because she presumably was exposed to less by not crawling on the ground, sucking on things and so on. Also, her more mature liver and other organs may have been able to eliminate the lead more effectively than the child. The extreme elevation of copper is indicative of a previous severe viral infection such as glandular fever. Lead increases susceptibility to viral, yeast and fungal infections. Eczema and many digestive disorders, are fungal and yeast in nature. And, if lead was not enough, elevated copper suppresses the adrenals and thyroid, leading to conditions such as chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, stretch marks, joint and tendon injuries and general poor disease resistance.
The duck had the last laugh (quack)!
This duck shooter ate the duck while it still had a couple of lead pellets in it and he accidentally swallowed one of them. He suffered what he thought was food poisoning. Over the next few years he progressively lost his physical health, his job, his wife and his nerves. He could no longer work his trade because of multiple chemical allergies, eczema and psoriasis. All his doctor could do for him is prescribe powerful medication to calm his brain. Some or all of the elevated elements, other than lead, may be because these are present in lead shot which is derived from impure sources of lead such as balancing weights off old car wheels, roof flashing and so on. Some, such as arsenic, is from working with treated timber.
Will lead toxicity show in a blood test?
In case you are wondering, historic contamination will seldom show with a blood test unless chemicals are given to mobilise the metal from deep within the body. Lead is lipophilic and osteophilic meaning that it will bury itself deep within the bone and fat (alarmingly, this includes the brain!). When a person is exposed to a metal like lead, the body will desperately do all it can to get it out of the circulation as quickly as possible where it is doing immense damage. What it can not excrete right away will be sequestered in the safest of body tissues - the fat and bone. Lead blood levels will be close to "normal" within days of the exposure ending. As the body is able, it will slowly mobilise and eliminate the toxin. This may take years, if not decades unless we actively work on getting it out. This process will barely show with a blood test but can be detected with the hair tissue mineral analysis, many years later - decades later actually! Repeat hair tissue tests help show just how effective we are at cleaning the body of these and other nasties.
Incidentally, my experience is that polluting industries, their medical advisers and insurers strongly favour the blood test and will actively do what they can to discredit tests such as tissue mineral analysis: even establishing "expert advisory groups", to ensure the full extent of their polluting ways remain well below the radar. They know they have a problem and they know they risk being sued to bankruptcy if the truth were known. So long as there is a week or two delay in getting the blood test done, the polluters know that all will be sweet.
Even more telling: these very same industries and their paid experts, who actively rubbish the hair tissue test for toxic metals, will use the very same technology used for hair tissue mineral analysis for the detection of historic use of recreational drugs such as marijuana and have no hesitation in firing the wayward employee or worse! Go figure that one!
(Please note that the laboratory that I use for tissue mineral analysis will never test for illicit drugs).
Take care out there duck shooters and renovators!