icon caret-left icon caret-right instagram pinterest linkedin facebook twitter goodreads question-circle facebook circle twitter circle linkedin circle instagram circle goodreads circle pinterest circle

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 
Be the first to comment

Herb Of The Year 2011: Horseradish

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 
Be the first to comment

Gluten-Related Symptoms and Diseases

Nearly one in one hundred people have gluten intolerance (gluten enteropathy, sprue, celiac sprue). In only fifty percent of them does the disease show with gastro-intestinal symptoms - the rest has non-intestinal symptoms. Be aware that many of these symptoms can also have other causes - this list does not replace a doctor who sees you! • Abdominal pain • Acanthosis nigricans • Addison’s disease • Alcoholism • Alkaline phosphatase (bone) elevated • Allergic rhinitis • Alopecia areata (patchy hair loss) • Amenorrhea (absence of menstrual period) • Anemia • Anemia – iron deficiency • Anemia - refractory • Anemia - vitamin B12 deficiency • Anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA) • Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) • Anti-tissue-transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) • Antiphospholipid syndrome (frequent miscarriages and other problems) • Anxiety • Aortic vasculitis • Apathy • Aphthous ulcers (mouth sores) • Appetite – poor • Arthritis • Arthritis – enteropathic • Arthritis - juvenile idiopathic • Asthma • Ataxia • Ataxia, progressive myoclonic • Atherosclerosis • Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) • Autism, learning disorders • Autoimmune cholangitis • Autoimmune diseases • Autoimmune hepatitis • Autoimmune thyroid disease • Balding – premature • Bipolar disorder • Bitot’s spots (foamy patches on whites of eye) • Bleeding – unexplained • Blepharitis • Bloating • Blurred vision • Bone fracture • Bone pain • Brain atrophy • Brain fog • Bronchiectasis • Cachexia (general wasting) • Calcium – low • Cancer - small cell of the esophagus • Cancer (adenocarcinoma) of the small intestine • Cancer of the esophagus • Cancer of the pharynx • Candida infections – recurrent • Cardiomegaly • Casein intolerance (cow mill “allergy”) • Cataracts • Cerebral perfusion abnormalities • Cheilosis (cracked lips and corners of mouth) • Cholesterol - low • Chorea • Chronic bullous dermatosis • Chronic fatigue syndrome • Colitis • Common variable immunodeficiency • Complications during pregnancy, labor, delivery and post-partum period • Congenital anomalies • Constipation • Copper deficiency • Coronary artery disease • Cortical calcifying angiomatosis • Cow mill “allergy” • Cutaneous vasculitis • Cutis laxa • Cystic fibrosis • Dairy intolerance • Delusions • Dementia • Depression • Dermatitis herpetiformis • Dermatomyositis • Diabetes Type I • Diabetes Type II • Diarrhea • Disorientation • Down syndrome • Dry eyes • Duodenal ulcers • Dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual periods) • Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse) • Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) • Early menopause • Easy bruising • Ecchymosis • Eczema • Edema • Enteropathy Associated T-cell Lymphoma (EATL) • Epilepsy • Erythema nodosum • Esophageal motor abnormalities • Eyes – dry • Eyes - bloodshot • Erythema elevatum diutinum • Failure to thrive • Fatigue • Fatty liver • Folic acid (folate) deficiency • Food allergies - blood-mediated and cell mediated • Food cravings • Gall bladder – impaired motility • Gas • Gastric emptying – delayed • Gastritis • GERD - Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease • Glucose abnormalities - too low or too high • Grave’s Disease • Growth retardation • Gums – bleeding and swollen • Hair loss • Hallucination • Headache • Heartburn • Heart disease • Hemochromatosis • Hemosiderosis - idiopathic pulmonary • Hepatic granulomatous disease • High blood pressure • Homocysteine elevated • Hyperactivity • Hyperkeratosis - follicular • Hyperparathyroidism • Hypertension • Hyperthyroidism • Hypocalciuria • Hypogonadism • Hypoparathyroidism • Hyposplenism (atrophy of spleen) • Hypothyroidism • Hypotonia • Ichthyosis - acquired • Pulmonary hemosiderosis - idiopathic • IgA deficiency • IgA nephropathy • Impotence • Inability to concentrate • Infertility (in both sexes) • Insomnia • Intrauterine growth retardation • Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy - severe • Irritable bowel syndrome • Keratoconjunctivitis sicca • Keratomalacia • Kidney stones • Lactose intolerance • Lassitude • Late menarche (late start of menstrual periods) • Leaky gut syndrome • Liver enzymes elevated • Loss of memory • Lymphadenopathy • Lymphoma - B-cell non-Hodgkin’s • Lymphoma - cryptic intestinal T-cell (refractory sprue) • Lymphoma – non-Hodgkin • Macroamylasemia • Macrocytosis (red blood cells larger than normal) • Macrolipasemia • Magnesium low • Malabsorption • Melanoma • Memory loss • Migraine • Miscarriage • Monoarthritis – recurrent • Mouth sores • Multiple sclerosis (MS) – a possible link • Muscle pain and tenderness • Muscle spasms and cramps • Muscle wasting • Muscle weakness • Nail problems • Nausea • Nervousness • Neuropathy - peripheral • Neutropenia (low white blood cells) • Nightblindness • Nosebleeds – unexplained • Obesity • Occult blood in stool • Ocular myopathy • Osteitis fibrosa • Osteomalacia • Osteomalacic myopathy • Osteonecrosis • Osteopenia • Osteoporosis • Pancreatic insufficiency (poor digestion) • Panic attacks • Parathyroid carcinoma • Penicilllin V impaired absorption • Phosphorus - low • Pityriasis rubra pilaris • Plasma proteins low • Plummer-Vinson Syndrome • PMS (premenstrual syndrome) • Pneumococcal septicemia • Pneumonia – recurrent • Polyglandular syndrome • Polymyositis • Potassium - low • Primary biliary cirrhosis • Primary sclerosing cholangitis • Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy • Prolactinemia • Prothrombin Time prolonged • Prothrombinemia • Prurigo nodularis • Psoriasis • Psoriatic arthritis • Puberty - delayed • Purpura – idiopathic thrombocytopenic • Rhabdomyolysis - hypokalemic • Rheumatoid arthritis • Rickets • Sarcoidosis • Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders • Scleroderma • Seborrhea • Short stature • Sjögren’s syndrome • Skin rash – itchy • Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth • Smell - loss of • Sperm abnormalities • Spina bifida • Sprue - refractory • Steatorrhea (pale, malodorous, floating, hard-to-flush stools) • Stomach ulcer • Stroke – premature • Sugar intolerance • Swelling • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) • Taste - loss of • Tetany • Thrombocytopenic purpura – idiopathic • Thyroid disease - juvenile autoimmune • Tongue – red and/or burning • Tremors • Tuberculosis - increased susceptibility to • Turner’s syndrome • Urinary tract infections - recurrent • Urticaria - chronic hives • Uveitis • Vaginitis • Vasculitis • Vasculitis of the CNS (Central Nervous System) • Vitiligo • Volvulus (twisted intestines) • Vomiting • Weight gain – unexplained • Weight loss – unexplained • Xerophthalmia (dry eyes) • Zinc - low I will add to this list as I come across new links –keep checking! Read More 
2 Comments
Post a comment