How Do You Know if You Have Heavy Metals

March 17, 2022 Post a Comment

Medically reviewed by Neka Miller, PhD on Jan 21, 2021. To give you lot technically accurate, evidence-based information, content published on the Everlywell blog is reviewed past credentialed professionals with expertise in medical and bioscience fields.

Excessive exposure to sure chemical elements can be dangerous. Heavy metals are one class of chemical elements that can contribute to some astringent and sometimes life-threatening issues. Knowing the symptoms to look out for may aid you protect your health against the furnishings of heavy metal toxins. Continue reading to larn more most the signs and symptoms of heavy metallic poisoning, how information technology'southward diagnosed and treated, and more.

Cheque your body'southward levels of 4 toxic chemical elements that tin can put your health at gamble—including arsenic, cadmium, and mercury—with the at-home Heavy Metals Examination.

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Heavy metals are a category of elements in the periodic tabular array. The term refers to naturally-occurring metallic elements that are especially dumbo (in other words, they are "heavy for their size" compared to many other elements). Examples of heavy metals include copper, platinum, mercury, and lead.

Heavy metals have a wide range of applications in diverse industries, including medicine, agriculture, and even food. In fact, your body naturally contains heavy metals that are necessary for basic bodily functions, including zinc, copper, and fe.

Heavy metallic poisoning can happen when you absorb too much of whatsoever item heavy metal toxin. This can occur with potentially whatever metal if it is present in high enough quantities. However, the 4 most mutual heavy metals that can get absorbed in toxic amounts are:

Arsenic
Cadmium
Lead
Mercury

Nether normal circumstances, it tin be difficult to absorb significantly loftier concentrations of those four heavy metals, just they can exist present in food, pollution, and more. Virtually oftentimes, heavy metal poisoning occurs over a long period of time, similar working in an industry where you are consistently exposed to a heavy metal toxin without the proper protective gear.

In the United States, heavy metallic poisoning is relatively rare. All the same equally rare as information technology is, it can assistance to know the possible signs and symptoms in case you or someone you know is affected past information technology. Heavy metallic poisoning symptoms can vary based on the metallic, but some general symptoms that overlap through about instances of excessive exposure to heavy metals include:

Nausea and airsickness
Diarrhea
Abdominal pain
Tingling awareness in the hands and anxiety
Shortness of breath
Sudden chills
Weakness and fatigue

Children may experience bone deformities or generally weak basic. Heavy metal poisoning during pregnancy can potentially contribute to premature births or miscarriages.

Forth with the higher up, different metals can also exhibit their own specific symptoms, every bit described beneath.

Arsenic poisoning symptoms

Arsenic is ordinarily used in chemic pesticides and sure industrial applications. Overexposure to arsenic compounds can pb to drowsiness, headaches, defoliation, and seizures. It can likewise contribute to neurological symptoms, including significant brain harm, nerve disease in your extremities, and a breakdown of the fatty layer covering nerve fibers, known equally the myelin sheath.

Arsenic poisoning tin also impact the skin, resulting in a collection of arsenic in the soft layers just below the skin, known as edema. Arsenic accumulation tin can also crusade white bands extending beyond the fingernails. Some people may experience bad breath odors that olfactory property similar garlic.

With chronic arsenic exposure—usually a result of working in environments where the heavy metal toxin is common—people may feel a significant weakening of muscles and muscle aches, along with chills and a fever. They may also showroom hardened patches of skin on their palms and feet, known as hyperkeratosis, also as unusual darkening or reddening of the skin and scale-similar inflammation. These symptoms can occur between two and eight weeks subsequently initial exposure.

Inorganic arsenic, which tin can be constitute in soil, sediment, and groundwater, can accumulate in the liver, kidneys, lungs, and digestive tract. While the symptoms may be similar to the to a higher place, inorganic arsenic operates slightly differently, leaving a balance within your organs, along with common tissues similar skin and pilus. Astute inorganic arsenic poisoning can cause gastrointestinal issues (diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea), musculus spasms, severe burning in the throat and mouth, and abdominal pain.

Cadmium poisoning symptoms

Cadmium is found in batteries, vapor lamps, electroplating, and some soldering products. Symptoms of cadmium poisoning can occur equally presently every bit ii to iv hours following exposure. Aggregating of cadmium can pb to musculus pain and lung issues, including:

Emphysema (a progressive loss of lung office)
A buildup of fluid in the lungs
Breathlessness

Cadmium poisoning can also lead to kidney damage that is characterized by:

High levels of protein in the urine
Changes to liver function
Softening of bones

Lead poisoning symptoms

Lead is most commonly found in lead-based pigment items, which can include toys. It may otherwise be plant in art supplies and contaminated dust. Although lead gets stored in the basic, the toxic metal tin have severe effects on every organ too as mental functions. Symptoms tin can also vary based on your age and the severity of exposure.

In children, atomic number 82 poisoning symptoms tin can develop over three to six weeks. Heavy lead exposure can cause kids to suddenly become sluggish, less playful, clumsier, or more than irritable. Information technology may also contribute to:

A lack of appetite
Constipation
Slurred spoken language
Fluctuations in kidney function
Low levels of iron in the claret, which can appear every bit unusually stake skin

Some children may experience significant behavioral or learning issues, including sudden deficiencies in cognitive office and coordination.

In adults, lead poisoning can lead to:

Low iron levels
High blood pressure level
Damage to reproductive organs
Indisposition and general sleep issues
Reduced muscle strength
Increased irritability
Hallucinations
Mental and behavioral changes (such as depression, anxiety, or increased hostility)

Mercury poisoning symptoms

Mercury is a naturally occurring metal found in soil and h2o. This ways that modest amounts of mercury somewhen finds its manner into certain nutrient products. While that amount is usually not enough to crusade warning, some foods contain more mercury than others.

Mercury poisoning is most commonly attributed to consuming too much methylmercury, an organic grade of mercury found in seafood. Eating high amounts of seafood over an extended period of time may contribute to mercury poisoning symptoms.

Mercury poisoning usually occurs over a long period of time. It tin result in:

Increased irritability
Memory bug
Anxiety
Depression
Tremors
Shyness
Numbness

In adults, mercury poisoning may also contribute to:

Sudden voice communication and hearing difficulties
Muscle weakness
A lack of coordination
Loss of feeling in the face up and hands
Sudden, significant vision changes
Problem with walking and mobility

(Note: To check your trunk's levels of mercury—plus arsenic and cadmium—from the convenience of home, consider taking the Everlywell Heavy Metals Test.)

Loftier levels of mercury exposure tin also have severe effects on early childhood evolution. Young children and infants who take been exposed to high levels of mercury may feel delays in fine motor skills, noesis, spatial awareness, and language development after on in life.

Healthcare providers perform a variety of diagnostic tests to decide if y'all are suffering from whatsoever form of heavy metal poisoning, and whether a heavy metal detox is necessary. Common tests to diagnose heavy metal toxicity and determine its severity include:

Complete blood count tests
Kidney function tests
Urinalysis
Imaging tests
Electrocardiogram
Liver function tests

For milder cases of heavy metal toxicity, eliminating exposure is usually enough to care for symptoms and flush the accumulated metals from the body. In severe cases of chronic exposure, healthcare providers may prescribe chelation therapy. This involves the use of drugs that demark to heavy metals and speed up their elimination from the body.

Heavy metal poisoning tin can have a astringent upshot on your health and well-being. The Everlywell Heavy Metals Test offers an like shooting fish in a barrel and convenient at-abode test that can detect and measure levels of 6 mutual chemical elements, including the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, and mercury.

How do you go mercury poisoning?

7 common mercury poisoning symptoms

References

1. Heavy Metal Blood Exam. MedlinePlus. URL. Accessed January 21, 2021.

2. Heavy Metals. StatPearls [Internet]. URL. Accessed Jan 21, 2021.

3. Heavy Metal Poisoning. National Organization for Rare Disorders. URL. Accessed Jan 21, 2021.

four. How People are Exposed to Mercury. U.s.a. Environmental Protection Bureau. URL. Accessed January 21, 2021.

5. Choose Fish and Shellfish Wisely. Us Environmental Protection Agency. URL. Accessed Jan 21, 2021.

6. Heavy metal poisoning. Genetic and Rare Diseases Data Center. URL. Accessed January 21, 2021.

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