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Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.

Signs and Symptoms of Arsenic Poisoning

Most arsenic poisoning is chronic: Through global trade, we are ingesting more and more arsenic-contaminated products – mainly rice, tea, medicinal herbs. Acute arsenic poisoning usually is accidental or occupational (mainly workers in pest control, electronics manufacturing industry and pressure-treated carpentry). Few are homi- or suicidal. Earlier this year I have been diagnosed with arsenic-induced ataxia. Ataxia means imbalance, wobbliness. For me, I am glad that I have “just” ataxia, and not more. The list below contains Latin as well a common names to make it easier to find things. Here is the short of what I have been doing to reduce my arsenic levels: 1. Stop using tainted products; look for safer sources. 2. Sauna as often as possible to sweat out heavy metals. Sweating through exercise and summer heat also helps. 3. Eating fresh garlic and cilantro bind and expel heavy metals 4. Vitamin C, selenium, vitamin B12, zinc, folate and methionine add to the elimination of arsenic. 5. And, of course, all the other lifestyle goodies: A healthy diet heavy on vegetables. Movement. Enough sleep. Plenty of water (some areas of the US have arsenic-contaminated drinking water from wells – careful!). Signs and Symptoms The myriad manifestations of arsenic intoxication do a roller coaster through all medical specialties, it seems. Since there are so many overlapping features with many diseases, it will take an open mind and special alertness to make a diagnosis. Just to show the enormous scope of signs and symptoms, I have thrown together acute and chronic arsenic intoxication. The list is not thought for diagnosing yourself - consult your physician. Here is the list: Abdominal discomfort Abdominal pain aches and pains Acrocyanosis Acute respiratory failure Acute tubular necrosis Adult respiratory distress syndrome Agitation Alopecia Altered mental status Anemia Anemia, aplastic Anhidrosis Anorexia Anxiety Aplastic anemia Arrhythmias Ascites Ataxia Atherosclerotic disease Autonomic neuropathy: unstable blood pressure, anhidrosis, sweating, flushing Basal cell carcinomas Basophilic stippling Birth defects, Blackfoot disease – black, mummified dry gangrene Bladder cancer Blood in the urine Bone marrow suppression Bowen disease Brittle Nails Bronchitis Bronchospams (inhaled arsenic) Burning in mouth/esophagus/stomach/bowel Cancer – lung, liver, kidney, bladder, skin, colon, larynx, lymphoid system Capillary dilation with fluid leakage and third spacing Cardiac arrhythmias Cardiac arrest Cardiomyopathy Carotid atherosclerosis Cerebral infarction Cerebrovascular diseases Chills Cholangitis Cholecystitis Chronic lower respiratory diseases Cirrhosis Clear skin lesions such as acne CNS depression Colitis Colon cancer Coma Concentration - poor Confabulation Confusion Congestive heart failure Conjunctivitis Convulsions Coordination difficulties Corneal necrosis Corneal ulcerations Cough with/without expectoration Cramps, cramping muscles Cyanosis of the fingers Death Dehydration Delirium Depression Dermatitis Dermatitis allergic-type Dermatitis, exfoliative Desquamation of skin Diabetes Diarrhea, often severe and/or bloody Disordered thinking Disorientation Disseminated intravascular coagulation Drowsiness Dyspnea (when inhaled) Dysphagia Eczema Edema – non-pitting of hand and feet EKG changes: ST changes, QT prolonged, Torsades de pointes, T wave inversion Encephalopathy, acute Enzyme inhibition Esophagitis Eyes blood-shot Eyes burning Facial edema Fatigue Fatty liver Fever - lowgrade Fibrillation, ventricular Fingernail pigmentation Fingernails with white marks Fluid loss Flushing Folic acid deficiency Gallbladder inflammation Gangrene of limbs Garlic-smelling breath or body fluids Gastritis Gastro-intestinal bleeding Generalized muscle aches and body pains Gingivitis Goiter Guillain-Barre syndrome - resembling Hair loss Hallucinations Headaches Hearing loss Heart disease Hematuria Hemoglobinuria Hemolysis Hepatomegaly Herpes Hormone imbalance Hyperesthesia Hyperpigmentation of the nails and skin Hyperpyrexia Hyperkeratosis thickening of the skin of the palms and soles Hypersalivation Hypertension Hypertension-related cardiovascular disease Hypopigmentation – “raindrop” areas of lost skin color Hypotension Hypovolemia Immune functioning impaired Immune suppression Impaired healing Inhibition of sulfhydryl enzymes – garlicky odor to breath/stool Insomnia Irritability Ischemic heart disease Jaundice Karyorrhexis Keratosis Kidney cancer Kidney damage Kidney failure Korsakoff’s psychosis Lack of appetite Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome - resembling Larynx cancer Laryngitis Leg cramps Lens opacity Lethargy Leukemia??? Leukocyturia Leukonychia striata Leukopenia Lightheadedness Listlessness Liver cancer Liver: central necrosis Liver congestion Liver dysfunction and elevated liver enzymes Liver: fatty degeneration Low grade fever Lung cancer Lung: Chronic restrictive/obstructive diseases Lungs: Inflammation of respiratory mucosa Lung irritation Lymphoma??? Major depression – mimicking Malabsorption Malaise Mees's lines, or Aldrich-Mees's Melanosis of the eyelids, areolae of nipples, and neck Memory loss Memory – poor Mental retardation Mental status altered Metallic taste in mouth Microcirculation abnormalities Mitochondrial dysfunction Movement disturbances Muscle aches, spasms, weakness Muscle fasciculations Muscle tenderness Muscle twitching Muscle wasting Muttering Myocardial depression Myocarditis Nasal mucosa irritation (when inhaled) Nasal septum perforation Nausea Neuralgia Neuritis Night blindness Nightmares Numbness Oliguria Oral burns (acute, when taken by mouth) Pancreatitis Paralysis Paranoia Paresthesia – symmetrical, stocking-glove Pedal edema Pericarditis Peripheral neuritis Peripheral neuropathy Peripheral vascular insufficiency Personality change Pigmentation changes – hypo and hyper Pins and needles in hands and feet Pneumonia, bronchial Polyneuritis Portal fibrosis Proteinuria Psychosis Pulmonary edema Pulmonary insufficiency (emphysematous lesions) Pulse – irregular Quadriplegia Raynaud’s Syndrome Renal cortical necrosis Respiratory failure, acute Respiratory muscle insufficiency Respiratory tract infection Rhabdomyolysis Rhino-pharyngo-laryngitis Rouleaux formation of red blood cells Salivation excessive Seizures Sensorimotor peripheral axonal neuropathy Sensory changes Shock Singing Skin bronzed Skin cancer Skin lesions and rashes, including vesiculation Skin pallor Sore throat Splenomegaly Squamous cell carcinoma Stomach pain Stomatitis Stroke Stupor Suicidal Swallowing difficulty Sweating, excessive Sweet metallic taste Tachycardia Throat constriction Thirst Thrombocytopenia Tingling Tracheobronchitis Tremor Tubular necrosis, acute Unsteady gait Uremia Vasodilation Vasospasm Vertigo Visual hallucinations Vitamin A deficiency Vitiligo Vomiting Vomiting blood Weakness of distal muscles – hands and feet Weight loss Read More 
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When Things Are Falling Down

Today is World Toilet Day, and most writers today will talk about the importance of hygiene – which is indeed more valuable than all the other medical advances combined, in my opinion. Every person in the world deserves running water and good plumbing, and so many don’t have it: 2.4 billion people worldwide lack access to decent sanitation! But the things I am want to talk about are internal organs, and when they fall, or droop, physicians call it prolapse. It is, of course, a female affliction (curse?). Often it results from child births (and I wonder if modern medicine that wants to speed up the birthing process, has given us more prolapses – we never will be seeing a study about this, I fear). Prolapse can be uncomfortable when you walk, and even hurt outright. But the worst part is that they might cause recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). There’s the connection to toilets, when you are running to the bathroom twenty times a day, and the whole middle of your being hurts like hell. Recurrent UTIs are dangerous because a simple bladder infection can rise into the kidneys and eventually even leading to sepsis (an infection of the whole body), and at its worst, death. And death doesn’t seem to be the worst outcome: The many courses of antibiotics – often the doctor tells the patient that they have to be on antibiotics for the rest of their lives to prevent the worst case scenario – damage the precious bacteria in the intestines, and lead to all sorts of complications: weight gain, susceptibility to other infections, fatigue, bloating, cramps, constipation, diarrhea, and so on. The last few years has brought us so many studies about the microbiome (the beneficial bacteria in our bowels) that it is hard to exaggerate its importance to your health. And every course of antibiotics will damage that healthy balance in your belly. - Hear that I am not altogether against antibiotics; they have saved lives (mine, for instance). But they can have grave side-effects, notably now antibiotic resistance. Conventional medicine recommends, besides Kegel exercises, surgery. Particularly, the insertion a special mesh down there to keep organs up, has not been very successful; women are suing the manufacturer in droves, and the mesh has been abandoned. But since every surgery carries a risk of infection and death with it – and repairing prolapse might make symptoms worse – surgery should be your last resort. You could also insert a pessary into your vagina to provide structural support. It works for some women. Here are the natural alternatives to invasive procedures; combined – can make a huge difference in the discomfort or comfort you feel in your most private area: 1. Standing on one leg whenever you think of it – while brushing your teeth, waiting for the bus, chopping an onion. This will strengthen your pelvic (and sexual) muscles – and is not as boring as Kegel exercises. It is also good exercise for your legs and good for balance – very important to prevent falls when you get older. 2. Inserting vaginal probiotics every evening into your vagina. 3. Oral probiotics. They heal your bowels after a course of antibiotics, and have shown to decrease the number of recurrent urinary tract infections prophylactically. 4. Washing your hands after each bowel movement religiously and then pampering your private parts (wipe from the front to the back - vulva to perineum to anus; never the other direction!) with a mixture of olive oil and a few drops of an essential oil like rosemary or thyme; they are antibacterial. Make sure you always wash your hands and use essential oil before you, for instance, insert the nightly vaginal probiotic capsule. It is tiny, and no, it won’t interfere with intercourse. 5. Taking triphala, the ayurvedic herb, which will prevent constipation. Naturally, if your problem is diarrhea, don’t take triphala on top of it. Triphala is an ancient combination of three Indian herbs: Amalaki or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis), Bibhitaki or bastard myrobalan (Terminalia bellirica), and Haritaki or yellow myrobalan (Terminalia chebula). Triphala is actually a balm for the gastro-intestinal tract, and is also good for your eyes. Besides it works against diabetes. 6. Take a zinc supplement to boost your immune system. 7. Prophylaxis with cranberry, uva ursi, usnea, corn silk, and so on, if needed every day. Especially after sex. Cranberry prevents bacteria to latch onto your bladder wall, so they are flushed out easier. Women and their doctors often think that prolapse is an inevitable part of aging. It shouldn’t be! - Happy Toilet Day! Read More 
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How You Can Tell That Your Body Is Inflamed? The Fleckenstein Finger Diagnosis (FFD):

Inflammation lies at the bottom of chronic disease - diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, some forms of depression and anxiety, heart disease, stroke, COPD (chronic bronchitis), osteoporosis, certain cancers, chronic pain, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s and other dementias, allergies, asthma, eczema and other skin diseases, heartburn, gastritis – and so many more. Yes, often you would not get these diseases if you didn’t have the right (or wrong) genes. But let’s face it: Most of us carry the genes for those diseases. All we need is a bad lifestyle to trigger chronic ailments. All of which make your life miserable. Of course, the main reason for the development of chronic diseases is that we are reaching older age than we used to – we have more time to hatch illness. But it is not that old age automatically renders you invalid and decrepit. One can have a healthy old age! But it takes some luck, and some effort. So what are the habits that trigger chronic inflammation and chronic diseases? The usual – and well-known - culprits: Inappropriate diet, too little movement (or too much!), environmental pollution of water, air and soil, psychological stress, unhappy relationships, unfulfilling jobs, drugs (medical and recreational), deficient water intake, unnecessary drugs, overweight and obesity, vitamin D deficiency, unnecessary antibiotics that kill the natural microbiome in our guts and on our skin. Another list that could go on and on. How do you tell that inflammation is damaging your body? Well, if you already have a chronic disease - that is the proof of the pudding. But If you are at the stage before a doctor runs some tests and finally makes the diagnosis – if you are in the pre-stages of disease – you might inspect your fingers for the telltale signs of inflammation: a red halo around the root of the nail, at the area of the nail bed. That halo can be thin and faint, and it can be thick and swollen. In some patients, the redness goes up half their digits, or higher. It is an early sign of inflammation, and one doctors usually don’t know about. In fact, I didn’t learn this in medical school – I observed it in my patients. The beauty of it? If you clean up your act, the halos get smaller and paler – you see within a few days that you are on the way to improvement. Especially if you leave out some offending allergenic food – the most common guilty parties here are dairy, gluten, nuts, sugar. Why is it that your fingertips can tell me the state of your health, the degree of inflammation? Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the tongue to tell about illness and well-being. My favorite European teacher Sebastian Kneipp used to base his diagnoses and prognoses on the shape and color of the earlobes; he must have come to it by simple observation, just as I did. The tongue, the earlobes, the fingertips – why those? Mainly because they are easily visible. For sure, if your body is riddled with inflammation, you will have signs of it in nearly all your inner organs. But the inner organs are hidden from direct inspection. For evaluating the tongue, I’d have to ask the patient to open her mouth. Earlobes and fingers are there for the looking. – Your fingers and nails can tell the doctor much more about your health (or un-health). But the FFD is easy for lay people. Let me tell you right away that I don’t yet know if only food allergies can trigger the redness of the fingers, or if other toxins or pathology processes do it too. I would think so. But there has been no study yet, just quiet observation on my patients. What I like about the Fleckenstein Finger Diagnosis (FFD): It is a do-it-yourself tool. You don’t need me to tell you something is wrong. You just need to look down on your fingertips. And if you see a reddish halo: Get up from your chair, and do something for your health: Go for a walk, and clean out your pantry! Read More 
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