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Alexa Fleckenstein M.D.

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

Signs and Symptoms of Arsenic Poisoning

October 4, 2016
Tags: water, herbs, Movement, food, order, abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain, Aches and Pains, acrocyanosis, acute respiratory failure, acute tubular necrosis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, agitation, Aldrich-Mees's lines, alopecia, altered mental status, anemia, anemia – aplastic, anhidrosis, anorexia, anxiety, aplastic anemia, arrhythmia, arsenic, ascites, ataxia, atherosclerotic disease, autonomic neuropathy, basal cell carcinoma, basophilic stippling, birth defects, blackfoot disease – black, mummified dry gangrene, bladder cancer, blood in urine, bone marrow suppression, Bowen disease, brittle nails, bronchitis, bronchospasms (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 disease, chills, cholangitis, cholecystitis, chronic lower respiratory diseases, cilantro, cirrhosis, clear skin lesions suddenly from 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, drinking water, 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 – low grade, fibrillation – ventricular, fingernail pigmentation, fingernails with white marks, fluid loss, flushing, folate, folic acid deficiency, gallbladder inflammation, gangrene of limbs, garlic, garlic-smelling breath or body fluids, gastritis, gastro-intestinal bleeding, generalized muscle aches and body pains, gingivitis, global trade, goiter, Guillain-Barré syndrome – resembling, hair loss, hallucinations, headaches, hearing loss, heart disease, heavy metals, hematuria, hemoglobinuria, hemolysis, hepatomegaly, herpes, hormone imbalance, hyperesthesia, hyperpigmentation of 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, imbalance, 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 disease, lungs - inflammation of respiratory mucosa, lung irritation, lymphoma???, major depression – mimicking, malabsorption, malaise, medicinal herbs, Mees's lines, melanosis of the eyelids/areolae of nipples/neck, memory loss, memory – poor, mental retardation, mental status altered, metallic taste in mouth, methionine, microcirculation abnormalities, mitochondrial dysfunction, movement disturbances, muscle aches, muscle fasciculations, muscle tenderness, muscle twitching, muscle wasting, muscle weakness, 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 pneumonia, polyneuritis, portal fibrosis, proteinuria, psychosis, pulmonary edema, pulmonary insufficiency (emphysematous lesions), pulse – irregular, QT prolonged, quadriplegia, Raynaud’s syndrome, renal cortical necrosis, respiratory failure – acute, respiratory muscle insufficiency, respiratory tract infection, rhabdomyolysis, rhino-pharyngo-laryngitis, rice, rouleaux formation of red blood cells, salivation excessive, sauna, seizures, selenium, sensorimotor peripheral axonal neuropathy, sensory changes, shock, Signs and Symptoms of Arsenic Poisoning, singing, skin bronzed, Skin Cancer, skin lesions and rashes including vesiculation, skin pallor, sleep, sore throat, spasms, splenomegaly, squamous cell carcinoma, ST changes, stomach pain, stomatitis, stroke, stupor, suicidal ideation, swallowing difficulty, sweating, sweating – excessive, sweet metallic taste, tachycardia, tea, throat constriction, thirst, thrombocytopenia, tingling, torsades de pointes, tracheobronchitis, tremor, tubular necrosis – acute, T wave inversion, unsteady gait, uremia, vasodilation, vasospasm, vegetables, vertigo, visual hallucinations, vitamin A deficiency, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitiligo, vomiting, vomiting blood, weakness of distal muscles – hands and feet, Weight Loss, well, wobbliness, zinc
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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Degrees of Freshness – Or what I learned from an Alpine Meadow

July 28, 2013
Tags: food, water, air, alpine, animals, aroma, Austria, basil, bell flower, biodiversity, bulbs, burdock, bush, buttercup, cilantro, coltsfoot, cranesbill, crocus, dandelion, diversity, earth, Europe, eyebright, Farm, fresh, heal-all, garden, Germany, Good King Henry, grazing, Great Britain, Grimming Mountain, Growth, Hamburg, harvest, healing power, health, hedge, herbal, humans, kitchen, limestone, lovage, meadow, meadowsweet, mowing, nutrients, ocean, oregano, parsley, plant, plantain - broad-leafed, plantain - narrow-leafed, poisonous, pollution, polyphenol, primal, processed, red clover, rosemary, Russia, scilla, silverweed, skiing, soil, species, stinging nettle, storage, Styria, sub-alpine, sun, supermarket, sweet Annie, tea, thyme, travel, tree, underground, vital, yarrow, hiking, vacation
People vacation in Austria – skiing in the winter, hiking in the summer. I never considered summer vacations in a land-locked country like Austria, because, originally from Hamburg/Germany, I am a child of the ocean – of all the oceans. But I am just back from one of the high meadows in Styria, smack in the middle of Austria. And what I found: a primal meadow. The alpine meadows high up there, facing the Grimming Mountain, have been mowed twice a year, for hundreds of years, probably thousands of years. The plant diversity is unimaginable. In an article I read some years ago that in Great Britain the age of a hedge can be estimated by how many different tree and bush species grow there; roughly one species is added per decade. I imagine it must be similar with these ancient meadows, mowed over year after year, different plants moving in all the time, enhancing biodiversity over time. The converse is also true: If we abandon regular mowing and/or grazing – as often now is the case on the steep and hard-to-reach meadows, and in light of shortage of labor when the young people move into the cities for a “better” life – we will lose this biodiversity. And might regret it too late. Because I was exhausted from my Europe travels through Russia, Germany, Austria, I brewed myself an herbal tea from the plants of the meadow right after arrival. The underground is limestone that let so many plants thrive: yarrow, meadowsweet, narrow-leafed plantain, stinging nettle, heal-all, broad-leafed plantain, red clover, eyebright, silverweed, Good King Henry, dandelion, sweet Annie. To which I added herbs from the kitchen garden: parsley, cilantro, rosemary, lovage, basil, oregano, thyme. Of course, other plants grew there that where not useful for my tea as they are poisonous, like cranesbill, coltsfoot, bell flower, buttercup, and a variety of spring-flowering bulbs like crocus and scilla that were now out of bloom. The tea had a gorgeous aroma, and I felt better and stronger immediately. Wish I could take such a meadow home! My garden at home, lovely as it is, does not come close. Its plant variety is not as great, the individual plants are not as sturdy, their green is not as deep, their aroma is not as overpowering. From this exceptional plant health we can assume that their polyphenol content is higher, and that their healing power is greater. Mostly, it is the strong sun out there that enables such a lush growth. But also the absence of pollution of air, soil and water so prevalent where we live. Earth just isn’t that primal anymore as it is high in the alpine and sub-alpine meadows. I am coming home with a new yearning, namely to preserve what we have, and perhaps even return our planet to more health. Because, the life of plants, and animals, and humans are closely interwoven here on Earth, none can survive alone. In my books, and here on the blog, I am touting fresh foods over processed foods. Fresh does not only mean harvested recently and stored for not too long, but also containing a high amount of vital nutrients. Up there, in the mountain meadow, I learned that degrees of freshness exist: Fresh from the supermarket: good. Fresh from your garden or directly from the farm: better. Fresh from an alpine meadow: best. Read More 
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Congee and Beans

February 28, 2011
Tags: food, water, herbs, amino acids, Asia, bean salad, botulism, breakfast, butter beans, cabbage – sour, chelating, China, congee – recipe, cilantro, Congee and Beans, cravings, detoxification, dill, easy meal, economical meal, fermented foods, garbanzos, garlic, Gluten-free, grape leaves, Greece, Herbes de Provence, herbs – dried, herbs – fresh, herbs – Italian beans, Hippocrates, Japan, Kellogg - John Harvey (1852-1943), Kellogg - Will Keith (1860-1951), legumes, lunch, maple syrup, marjoram, microwave, olive oil, parsley, pressure cooker, refrigeration, resveratrol, rice – brown, rice – short, rice cooker, Russia, tarragon, vegetables, pickles, salt and pepper, sauerkraut, savory, sweet tooth, umeboshi plum paste, Your food be your medicine
Surely, I've been stressing my mantra "Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables" on this blog; without vegetables, no health. Think of congee and beens as "fast" vegetables. They don't substitute for greens and roots and cabbages. But congee for breakfast and beans for lunch keep me going all day until I arrive at my vegetable-laden dinner table. The amino acids in congee and beans complement each other to a full, nourishing set, and congee and beans have this in common: They are easy to make and very economical – I bet you can’t come up with a healthier meal that’s less expensive. • Congee: This Asian dish is basically rice cooked with lots and lots of water into a very satisfying thick soup. If you think you know rice, and don’t like it, try congee. To me it always tastes like it was made in heaven by some motherly, nourishing angel. Here is how you make it yourself: If you have a rice cooker with a congee setting (which I don’t), you have it easy. I use a pressure cooker. One cup of brown rice – preferably the short, sticky variety – to two cups of water. Cook for about ten minutes. After cooling, add three to four cups more water. Cook for another ten minutes or so (I know my recipes are awfully vague; that’s how I cook – you figure out your own way). The pressure cooker method works better if you do it in two steps rather than pouring in all the water in the beginning. If, on the other hand, you have only a simple, big pot, you let the rice simmer on very low heat for several hours. If needed, add more water. One cup of dry rice, transformed into congee, fills about four big breakfast bowls. You serve it with any kind of fermented pickles – sauerkraut being very good and cheap. (Look up my old blog on fermented foods if you are not familiar with their health benefits). Chinese traditionally have some nice pickles – but it has to be the fermented kind, not the modern processed stuff, and the fermented pickles are not longer found easily. I have used sour cabbage from the Russian store, or Greek marinated grape leaves (high in resveratrol!). Japanese have great fermented things like umeboshi plum paste. You only need a little bit for a whole bowl. Whatever you like. But don’t do sweet stuff like maple syrup – the congee needs fermented foods. Anything sweet will only feed your sweet tooth. And it is not written in stone that a breakfast needs to be sweet – that is the Kellogg brothers' invention, I suspect. I always add a liberal amount of olive oil because otherwise it won’t last me until lunch. By the way, you may add a pinch of salt to your bowl – but fermented foods usually provide all the saltiness you may want. This breakfast has one great advantage: Filling without stuffing, it squashes all cravings – and makes you go until lunch without ever thinking of food. • Beans: I apologize to the purists among you, but I use canned beans. Of course, one can also soak beans overnight and cook them – but I have more interesting things to do. When you buy canned beans, make sure they have no additives – they should be beans and water, nothing else. You open a can of beans and heat the contents (including the fluid) in a small pot to a boil. Add olive oil (I can’t even think of life without olive oil!), and pinch of salt and pepper. Toss in a handful of fresh or a table spoon full of dried herbs: Dill and parsley turn a boring can of beans a festive and health meal. Tarragon goes beautifully with garbanzos (which, technically are no beans, but belong to the legume family), marjoram or savory are great with butter beans, Italian herbs or Herbes de Provence plus garlic make dark beans a spectacular meal. Cilantro goes with everything – again add some garlic, and you already have a detoxifying, chelating medicine – “Your food be your medicine” as Hippocrates already said. We can now buy so many different kinds of canned beans. Find out what you like – and then rotate, because it is not good to eat the same fare every day. If you can’t warm up your beans at midday at work on a stove (don’t use a microwave!), you can also make a bean salad (same ingredients, just drain the fluid of, and perhaps cut a small onion into the mix). But keep your beans refrigerated at all times, as they are prone to botulism germs when left at room temperature longer than two hours. And, hopefully you know better than use a bulging can of beans – discard it! And then, as they say: Enjoy! P.S. Did you notice that congee and beans are perfectly gluten-free? No-sweat gluten-free! Read More 
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