You will be surprised, but coal mines and chemical plants are by no means the only sources of toxins that pollute the environment and our bodies. Heavy metals are present in the soil, in the water we drink, in food, in cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, and even in the medications that each of us is forced to take every now and then. These harmful substances enter the body, damaging its cells, weakening the immune system and causing serious illness. Moreover, you should not think that heavy metals settle exclusively in the liver and damage only this organ. Toxic damage can affect the brain, intestines, kidneys, organs of hearing or vision, and therefore every person should know the means that cleanse the body of heavy metal salts.
Where is lead used?
Lead is in great demand in the modern industrial sector. He managed to achieve this thanks to a number of extremely useful qualities: it has excellent softness, elastic properties, a low melting point, and perfectly maintains its structure in the face of alkali and organic acid. In its liquid state, this substance is capable of easily dissolving any metal compound except iron.
Because of all of the above, it is extremely problematic to formulate a definitive list of industrial areas and those work processes where a person may come into contact with this substance. Lead can often be found in ore smelting, mass production of batteries, linings for various tools, hardening of metal products, coating of electrical cables, development of firearms, as well as in the printing industry.
The excellent chemical resistance indicator has made it possible to use lead in the production of a wide variety of equipment and computer equipment. Lead has also found wide demand in the field of protection against X-ray radiation.
Common heavy metals
There are 40 chemical substances on the periodic table that belong to heavy metals - substances with a mass of more than 50 atomic units. Many of them are toxic to living things. The most dangerous elements that can accumulate in the human body are mercury, cadmium and lead. They are common and toxic substances.
The main sources of heavy metals entering the environment are:
- oil refineries and chemical plants;
- development of mercury and gold deposits;
- ore mining enterprises;
- motor transport;
- waste incineration plants;
- leather factories.
Heavy metals are the main environmental pollutants. Once in the soil and water, they are absorbed by plants and fish. When cows eat grass, they accumulate metals in their tissues. People who eat milk and meat from infected animals develop diseases.
Lead poisoning
Using specific symptoms, it is quite easy to determine poisoning with a given substance. The symptoms that are present in this type of poisoning can be very similar to the symptoms that accompany many other diseases. In this situation, only thanks to a comprehensive diagnosis of each symptom, poisoning can be clearly diagnosed.
If you look at the appearance of a person who has suffered from this substance, you will notice several changes, which include increased pallor and an earthy tint to the skin. The latter is formed due to spasms in blood vessels. Increased pigmentation of the entire skin may also be present in this situation.
This is facilitated by a huge amount of porphyrins, which indicates that lead poisoning has occurred. The presence of a purple streak in the mouth is another sign that confirms the presence of this extremely harmful substance in the body. Plus, caries can also be detected when a person has lead poisoning.
External symptoms:
- damage to tooth enamel - dark gray color on the sides of the gums, in most cases on the front teeth,
- changing the color shade on the facial area of the skin from the usual to gray.
Signs in a blood test:
- increased reticulocyte volume,
- changed appearance of red blood cells.
Manifestation of intoxication of the body
The manifestation of symptoms of poisoning does not end there. When Saturnism occurs, the patient can experience increased excitation of the autonomic part of the central nervous system, constant constipation, which cannot be cured or avoided, even using strong medications.
Also manifested are high blood pressure, decreased heart rate, mood swings, abdominal pain, severe tingling sensations - all this is more than enough to make an appointment with a toxicologist. The last nuance, by the way, acts as the most severe symptom. During the period of colic, a person suffers from severe pain in the abdominal area, near the navel. They can be slightly softened by pressing with your hand. Fortunately, there is an antidote. Full lead poisoning occurs when the number of red blood cells increases many times.
Defeat of the National Assembly
Symptoms of intoxication entering the nervous system can be very diverse. In this situation we are talking about a severe migraine in the occipital region, severe weakness, memory gaps, constant mood swings, insomnia, and convulsions.
Disturbance in the functioning of the hematopoietic system
It is quite easy to detect this sign by donating blood for analysis (the doctor will see a change in the composition of the blood). In other words, there is a decrease in hemoglobin and an increase in the same reticulocytes.
A drop in hemoglobin levels causes symptoms:
- pale skin
- extreme fatigue
- dizziness
- migraine, ringing in the ears.
Disorders in the functioning of the digestive tract
In this situation, you may experience a lack of appetite, nausea, constipation, a sweetish taste in the mouth, intestinal colic or spasms. If we talk about the liver, then a violation of its functionality causes an increase in bilirubin in the blood, a decrease in blood volume, which entails negative consequences.
Who is most at risk?
People who come into contact with industries in which this metal is used are at greatest risk of developing lead poisoning:
- Mining and processing of metal ores.
- Metallurgical and metalworking industry.
- Printing houses.
- Painting, plastering and other finishing and repair work.
- Specific areas of production, for example - various wires and cables, batteries.
- Paint and varnish enterprises.
- Agricultural technology and agriculture.
- Pharmaceutical production.
- Pottery, porcelain and ceramic production.
The most unpleasant and difficult thing for health is long-term, constant contact with this toxin, which results in chronic lead poisoning. Metal constantly enters the body, there are no obvious signs, rarely does anyone pay attention to a number of ailments, and, as a result, this state of affairs inevitably leads to severe diseases with a high mortality rate, for example, cancer.
The most dangerous professions that put people at risk of getting sick are:
- Agronomist.
- Miner.
- Smelter.
- Miller (talking about an ore miller).
- Chaser.
- Painter.
- Battery collector.
- Cable guy.
- Network installer.
- Pharmacist.
- A general worker in any lead-using industry.
Of course, this is not a complete list of dangerous professions.
Enterprises whose activities involve the processing or use of heavy metals must have a program whose goal is to prevent lead poisoning. The absence of such a medical part from the side of ensuring working conditions is a serious reason for legal claims and penalties; there are already enough cases of such precedents in Russian law.
However, specialized medical examinations are not carried out everywhere. The agricultural industry is particularly lagging in this regard, although the use of lead, primarily for pest control in agriculture, is comparable to metallurgical production.
Treatment of lead poisoning
The first and most important criterion in successful treatment is to isolate the infected person as far as possible from the substance. After all this, it is necessary to take measures to eliminate the poison from the human body. Most often, iodine or phosphoric acid is used for this purpose, as well as various kinds of diuretics, and in order to fully strengthen the body, glucose is introduced.
During treatment, the patient should also eat as many apples, pears, cabbage and carrots as possible. It is better to give an antidote for lead poisoning immediately.
It is worth adding that full recovery occurs only in a situation where mild intoxication has occurred. Otherwise, a number of insurmountable consequences for the human body arise. It is extremely important that during the treatment period a person is under the supervision of doctors. When lead poisoning occurs, possible symptoms may appear a little later.
In a situation where anemia occurs due to the penetration of lead into the body, iron is used during the treatment period. It is prescribed in large dosages, and should be taken with meals. Iron must form hemoglobin, which plays a huge role in eliminating this poisoning.
Plus, you can use an excellent medicinal drug, which is known as ferkoven. This medicine is administered exclusively intravenously, due to which the hemoglobin level significantly increases.
In certain cases, when the sick person exhibits symptoms of poisoning, glucose is added to the above medicine, and a sleeping pill for those who suffer from insomnia. But this is only when there is chronic intoxication with ordinary lead. To overcome the most unpleasant symptom - colic - the patient is given a warm bath, a heating pad is applied, or atropine is administered intravenously, as well as sulfuric magnesia, and so on.
Doctors do not advise using laxatives.
Diet during poisoning
If for some reason a person was unable to prevent infection, then it is possible to reduce the recovery time thanks to the right food. This can significantly help the body eliminate the toxic substance in the shortest possible time and return to its normal lifestyle.
When signs of intoxication begin to worsen, it is necessary to expand the diet with a product such as milk. If there is simply no exacerbation, then it is also better to devote a little time to consuming acidic products. To prevent the disease, experts advise eating the fruits described above. They contain pectins, which provide serious assistance in eliminating lead from the body. Lead intoxication occurs gradually.
Who is susceptible to poisoning?
No one is immune from this, but it is possible to prevent infection at a production enterprise by replacing personnel with technical equipment in order to reduce human contact with a harmful substance. All machines must be extremely sealed, and each employee must have a uniform that has been treated with special equipment. It is very easy to contract lead toxicity at work.
To maintain hygiene, it is recommended to wash your hands with weak acetic acid. The respiratory system must also be protected with a respirator, and the room in which work with toxic substances is carried out must be constantly ventilated.
The most effective method for preventing poisoning is to avoid using lead in favor of any other non-toxic substance.
Routes of penetration of metals into the human body
Heavy metals are found in cleaning products, tap water, and tobacco smoke. Mercury often enters the body at home by inhaling vapors from a broken thermometer or a damaged fluorescent lamp.
But the main route of entry of metals is food. Most of the contaminated food products enter the gastrointestinal tract with plants grown near chemical and metallurgical plants.
Copper is part of pesticides used in agriculture. Mercury poisoning occurs after eating seafood and fish. Meat and dairy products may contain metals if animals are fed contaminated food.
Vaccinations cause a lot of controversy in society in all countries. Vaccines contain heavy metals such as mercury and aluminum as preservatives.
In 1998, British scientist Andrew Wakefield, while examining children with autism, came to the conclusion that the cause of the disease was the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
The issue remains controversial. Vaccination supporters argue that the dose of metal is negligible and cannot harm the child. After vaccination, a proper diet and medicinal algae will help remove heavy metals from the body.
How to remove lead from the body?
The diagnosis is established on the basis of clinical symptoms and the detection of lead in the human body exceeding the norm of 250 mcg/l. Plus, poisoning can be detected by urine analysis. Treatment begins with removing the source, and in a situation of extremely acute and severe intoxication, the victim is sent to toxicology.
When acute encephalopathy occurs, measures are taken to reduce cerebral edema and diuresis is supported. Antidotes in this case are designed to bind heavy metals and remove them from the human body. If the symptom is severe, antidote therapy is carried out for a week. In case of urgent need, the course can be repeated after a couple of days.
Precautionary measures
Heavy metals will not accumulate in the body if you follow the rules:
- replace amalgam dental fillings that contain mercury;
- do not cook food in aluminum foil or utensils;
- visit the bathhouse;
- do not use toothpaste with aluminum;
- replace sunscreen with natural oils;
- do not use deodorants or antiperspirants.
Go to the sauna or bathhouse more often and eat a lot of apples. These simple measures will greatly reduce the risk of heavy metal accumulation in organs and blood.
Lead is one of the most dangerous metals that enter the human body. The daily dose of lead entering the body is equal to 45 mcg. Lead enters the body through food and water. A large amount of lead is retained in the body - approximately 40%. After lead enters the body, up to 90 percent of the substance is distributed between bone tissues, the rest ends up in hair, nails, kidneys and liver.
Find out more about heavy metals, incl. about lead and their impact on health from the article “Heavy metals in the human body.”
There are several ways to remove lead from the body. One of them is available to everyone - a proper diet. The main component of foods that can help remove heavy metals is fruit. Pectin contained in fresh, raw fruits can remove some of the lead from the body. But after heat treatment, fruits lose their properties and can no longer act as effectively.
An excellent way to remove lead from the body is to consume fermented milk products daily. It can be sour cream or kefir, fermented baked milk or bio-yogurt. All these products will help the body cope with heavy metal poisoning.
More tasty means of combating excess lead include natural-based jams, marmalade, especially apple-flavored, and marshmallows. These products contain sufficient pectin to combat excess lead. Some doctors claim that oatmeal soaked in milk works great to prevent excess lead.
The accumulation of lead in human bones leads to a loss of strength, so over the age of 40, bones heal more slowly and break more often. For enhanced prevention, specialized dietary supplements are added to food, designed to combat excess heavy metals.
