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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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Invasive Plants 4 – Bindweed

October 17, 2011
Tags: herbs, aloe, Angel’s trumpet, angiogenesis inhibitor, Aztecs, bindweed, blood vessel, bowel, Calistegia, cancer, cathartic - drastic, contact poison, cholagogue, comfrey, Convolvulus arvensis, Convolvulus scammonia, cramps, dahlias, daylilies, fevers, field bindweed, gallbladder, hallucinogenic, infection, Invasive Plants 4 – Bindweed, Ipomoea, invasive plants, laxative, medicinal plant, mediterranean, Mexico, morning glory, nausea, New World, Old World, poisonous, Roots, Round-up, scammony, side-effects, skin sore, subtropics, Syria, taxonomy, tea – herbal, toxicity, tropics, trumpet flower, tumor, vascularization, vegetable patch, vine, Virginia, weed, wound - festering, wound healing
We all love morning glories, those blue-purple trumpets that open in abundance in the morning, then fade during the day, only to display a new crop of blooms the next sunny morning. But we all hate field bindweed. Yet, the two are closely related. The family relationships of morning glories and bindweeds are exceedingly complicated – kind of like trying to figure out how Uncle Ernest is related to Grandma’s sister. Bindweed is Convolvulus arvensis, and the most common garden morning glory is really an Ipomoea. Some bindweeds are in the Calistegia family, but there are even more genera involved in these twining, flowering trumpets. Let’s say you and I know what a morning glory is: a dazzling, desirable plant in the garden. And its lowly cousin, the bindweed, is a curse. It is not that bindweed is ugly: Their trumpets are usually a bit smaller and often just plain white. But some have a blushing rose painted in, and could well compete with the showier morning glories if they were not so – well, invasive. The pop up everywhere and vine themselves around your dahlias and daylilies and whatnot, and smother them. Just when you have hacked the vegetable patch, only days later their peep up again, and show you that all your work was in vain. It comes out of the ground so dainty and harmless – but don’t be fooled: Scattering their seeds is only the small part of it. Worse is that the teeniest bit of root left in the ground will sprout a whole new plant in no time. That feature makes them a weed – and a weed that in all likelihood won’t be eradicated for good from your garden (or mine). If the taxonomy and names of morning glories and bindweeds are confusing, so are their origins. Roughly one can say the showy garden morning glories come from the New World, especially Mexico, and bindweeds are Old World inhabitants. Bindweed was introduced to Virginia in the 1700’s, and rapidly spread from there. There is a Mediterranean variety called scammony (Convolvulus scammonia), used as a medicinal plant in Syria. Bindweed and is mildly poisonous; “mildly poisonous” means you likely will not die but will be sick as a dog and you wish you were dead. Nevertheless, the Aztecs used it as a hallucinogenic – I don’t recommend trying what the Aztecs tried though. Suffice to know that Angel’s trumpet is a relative, too – all morning glories should be handled with caution. Literally handled: Some species, particularly in the subtropics and tropics, are so poisonous that mere contact can make one sick. Livestock might be poisoned, especially by the white roots, if for instance swine dig for the roots. With all its nauseating toxicity, bindweed has been used as a medicinal plant: A tea from the flowers is good against infections and fevers, and also works as a laxative. Perhaps, to discourage its use, I should call it properly a drastic cathartic, which what it is. It is a cholagogue, meaning it induces the gallbladder to push out bile into the bowels. Nausea and cramps surely are some of its side-effects. The herb has been laid on festering wounds and promotes healing. But unless you are in bind – umh! – I would prefer comfrey and aloe to heal wounds because we don’t know well enough how much of the bindweed is taken up through a skin sore. And lastly, bindweed is being investigated as a possible cancer drug. It seems to be an angiogenesis inhibitor, meaning it does not allow a growing tumor to vascularize itself (growing the necessary blood vessel to feed itself) – thus, the cancer is starved. But it sound more straightforward than it is – again, I wouldn’t try this at home. Bindweed, invasive and frustrating. But it might have its redeeming sides. Nothing on which we should use Round-up (which we should use on NOTHING!!) – just investigate its usefulness. Read More 
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Herb Of The Year 2011: Horseradish

May 7, 2011
Tags: herbs, food, antibacterial, apples, Armoracia rusticana, asparagus - white, Belgian endive, boiled beef, bones - strong, breakfast, bronchitis, calcium, Chinese rice soup, chives, comfort, condiment, congee, dandelion, death, decoration, diarrhea, digestive, dinner, disorientation, enzyme, fever, frosts, garden, garden pest, gastro-intestinal irritation, Germany, ginger, grape leaves, green tea, harvest, healing purposes, Herb Day, herbal tea, Herb Of The Year 2011 - Horseradish, herbs - cleansing spring, hors d’oeuvres, horseradish, horseradish root, horseradish as poison, horseradish peroxidase, hot bath, International Herb Association, International Herb Day 2011, invigorating, Japanese tea - ground, lunch, macha, magnesium, mint, Natural Medicine, nausea, neighborhood, neurobiology, olives - chopped, olive paste, overdosing on fresh horseradish, phosphorus, potassium, potatoes - mashed, potluck party, pungent, resveratrol, rice crackers, rice vinegar, robustness, sauerkraut, sesame - black, sinusitis, Spring, stinging nettle, sweating, taste, taste buds, toxic compounds, urinary tract infection, volatile oils, vomiting, weakness, weed, wild garlic
This should be the International Herb Day 2011 – but it seems several organizations compete with their dates. So, I am making it my own Herb Day. I started the day with an herbal tea from stinging nettle, dandelions, ginger, chives, mints, and a dash of green ground Japanese tea called macha - to open my eyes. My breakfast consisted of – you know my routine by now - congee (Chinese rice soup from brown rice) with sauerkraut and pickled grape leaves. They are my own harvest from last year, just cooked in rice vinegar and frozen, high in resveratrol, and a real pest in the garden! What is more delightful to find a way to turn an annoying weed into a delicious food! For lunch I had olive paste on black sesame rice crackers. For dinner I am invited to a neighborhood potluck party, and I will bring hors d’oeuvres: Olive paste (can be substituted with chopped olives, on Belgian endive and/or apples slices, topped with leftover pieces of white asparagus and chives from the garden. The uses for herbs are unlimited: as condiment, as decoration, for healing purposes, for taste in food and comfort in a hot bath. This year, the International Herb Association made horseradish the herb of 2011 – don’t try it in your bath, though! Horseradish root, grated has the familiar pungent taste which goes well with bland fish or bland meats – in Germany we use it with boiled beef, which is a boring a dish as one can imagine. With horseradish, it suddenly is exciting for the taste buds. Serve it fresh mashed potatoes, made from scratch. What makes Armoracia rusticana, as it is known in Latin, so pungent are its volatile oils. They also give it its healing properties: antibacterial, digestive. It certainly gives your sinuses a good blow-out. It is also used in urinary tract infections and bronchitis, and promotes sweating in a fever, which can be beneficial. And in Natural Medicine we view it – together with stinging nettle, dandelion, chives, wild garlic, and others – as one of the essential cleansing spring herbs. Horseradish also contains potassium, and an interesting enzyme – horseradish peroxidase, now used widely in neurobiology. Magnesium, calcium, phosphorus are building strong bones. That does not mean you should gorge on it – a little goes a long way; too much would be a poison. Overdosing on fresh horseradish (cooking destroys the toxic compounds) shows in gastro-intestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, sweating, and disorientation, and possible death. Before I knew that it would become famous this year, namely in the winter, I planted a horseradish root in a pot. For months, it did nothing, as eagerly as I observed the phallic thing for signs of life. Then, after I had put it outside when there were still frosts expected, I noticed it had developed side-shoots. And as soon as the rain stops today I will plant it in a bigger container. It would be unwise to plant it in the garden as it is a tough customer and prone to spreading robustly. – Perhaps that was one of the reasons our forefathers recognized it as one of those invigorating plants with which we might fight dwindling health. Read More 
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