Top 4 Questions to Help You Understand Heavy Metal Poisoning

Heavy metal poisoning can occur when exposed to large amounts of certain metals. This can make you sick and impact how your body functions. To prevent this to happen, see the different queries about heavy metal poisoning and learn more about it.

1. What Are the Causes of Heavy Metal Poisoning?

Heavy metals are everywhere – in the ground, in the water, and in the products we use every day. You can be poisoned if you consume food or drink contaminated with heavy metals or if you inhale contaminated dust or fumes.

There are many heavy metals, such as:

• Arsenic
• Cadmium
• Copper
• Iron
• Lead
• Mercury
• Zinc

You may accidentally ingest these heavy metals when:

• You breathe in old lead paint dust when fixing your home.
• You drink water contaminated with heavy metals.
• You eat fish caught in an area with high mercury levels.
• You work in a factory or plant that uses heavy metals.
• You use herbal medicines that have heavy metals in them.
• You use dinnerware that hasn’t been coated well enough, causing heavy metals to contaminate your food.

2. How To Determine Heavy Metal Poisoning?

Acute Poisoning

The symptoms of acute poisoning depend on the metal and the amount ingested. If you’re exposed to a large amount of metal at one time, such as in a factory accident, you may experience symptoms like confusion, numbness, vomiting, and loss of consciousness.

You may experience:

• Abdominal pain
• Anemia
• Behavioral changes
• Brain problems or memory loss
• Dehydration
• Diarrhea
• Fluid in your lungs
• Horizontal lines on your nails
• Kidney damage
• Liver damage
• Lung irritation
• Miscarriages or premature labor
• Tingling
• Weak or malformed bones

Chronic Poisoning

You can get chronic poisoning from exposure to small amounts of the metal over a long period. As it builds up in your system, you may start to experience symptoms like:

• Aches and pains
• Constipation
• Headaches
• Fatigue

3. How to Diagnose Heavy Metal Poisoning?

Different tests can be done to check for the presence of heavy metals. These tests can help your doctor determine how severe it is, and which heavy metals are involved. Some tests that might be performed include:

• A complete blood count (CBC)
• An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
• Imaging tests, such as abdominal radiographs
• Kidney function tests
• Liver function tests
• Urine analysis to check for proteins

Your doctor will ask about your job, hobbies, diet, and any other lifestyle choices that might have exposed you to hazardous materials. Unless you have symptoms and a history of exposure or a good reason to believe heavy metals are the cause, tests for heavy metals aren’t routinely done. 

4. How to Treat Heavy Metal Poisoning?

The best way to keep from getting sicker is to avoid anything that may have made you ill in the first place. Your doctor can guide you and figure out how to protect yourself. 

Another way to get rid of it is by receiving a detoxification treatment at a professional clinic. It is the process of removing heavy metals from your body. It can be done with the help of detoxification or chelating agents.

Chelation therapy is a treatment for severe poisoning. You receive drugs, usually through an IV, that attach to the heavy metals in your blood and are then flushed out through your urine. 

This detox treatment includes nutritional supplementation and physical exercise. It is also one of the simplest ways to get rid of heavy metals,  toxicants, and other pollutants in the body.

Final Thoughts

Heavy metal poisoning can lead to death in extreme cases. Therefore, it is important to prevent and treat it as soon as possible. Once you have heavy metal poisoning in your system, it can be hard to get rid of the toxins. For this reason, be sure to take action and get proper detoxification treatment instantly.

For urgent care through heavy metal detox, zeolite can help you cleanse from heavy metal exposure. Thankfully, we have a full list of toxic metal detox products to provide you with a safe and fast detox process. Order products containing zeolite for heavy metal detox today and find the one that fits your needs the most.