Mercury poisoning
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elemental mercury
ICD-10     T56.1
ICD-9     985.0
DiseasesDB     8057
MedlinePlus     002476
eMedicine     emerg/813

Mercury poisoning (also known as hydrargyria or mercurialism) is a disease caused by exposure to mercury or its compounds. Mercury (chemical symbol Hg) is a heavy metal that occurs in several forms, all of which can produce toxic effects in high enough doses. Its zero oxidation state Hg0 exists as vapor or as liquid metal, its mercurous state Hg+ exists as inorganic salts, and its mercuric state Hg2+ may form either inorganic salts or organomercury compounds; the three groups vary in effects. Toxic effects include damage to the brain, kidney, and lungs.[1] Mercury poisoning can result in several diseases, including acrodynia (pink disease), Hunter-Russell syndrome, and Minamata disease.[2]

Symptoms typically include sensory impairment (vision, hearing, speech), disturbed sensation and a lack of coordination. The type and degree of symptoms exhibited depend upon the individual toxin, the dose, and the method and duration of exposure.
Contents
[hide]

    * 1 Signs and symptoms
          o 1.1 Causes
    * 2 Mechanism
          o 2.1 Elemental mercury
          o 2.2 Inorganic mercury compounds
          o 2.3 Organic mercury compounds
    * 3 Diagnosis
    * 4 Prevention
    * 5 Treatment
    * 6 Prognosis
          o 6.1 Detection in biological fluids
    * 7 History
          o 7.1 Acrodynia
          o 7.2 Medical procedures
                + 7.2.1 Thiomersal
                + 7.2.2 Dental amalgam
          o 7.3 Cosmetics
          o 7.4 Fluorescent lamps
    * 8 See also
    * 9 References
    * 10 External links

[edit] Signs and symptoms

Common symptoms of mercury poisoning include peripheral neuropathy (presenting as paresthesia or itching, burning or pain), skin discoloration (pink cheeks, fingertips and toes), swelling, and desquamation (shedding of skin).

Because mercury blocks the degradation pathway of catecholamines, epinephrine excess causes profuse sweating, tachycardia (persistently faster-than-normal heart beat), increased salivation, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Mercury is thought to inactivate S-adenosyl-methionine, which is necessary for catecholamine catabolism by catechol-o-methyl transferase.

Affected children may show red cheeks, nose and lips, loss of hair, teeth, and nails, transient rashes, hypotonia (muscle weakness), and increased sensitivity to light. Other symptoms may include kidney disfunction (e.g. Fanconi syndrome) or neuropsychiatric symptoms (Bradley Coyne Syndrome) such as emotional lability, memory impairment, or insomnia.

Thus, the clinical presentation may resemble pheochromocytoma or Kawasaki disease.

An example of desquamation of the hand of a child with severe mercury poisoning acquired by handling elemental mercury is this photograph in Horowitz, et al. (2002).[3]
[edit] Causes

The consumption of fish is by far the most significant source of ingestion-related mercury exposure in humans and animals, although plants and livestock also contain mercury due to bioaccumulation of mercury from soil, water and atmosphere, and due to biomagnification by ingesting other mercury-containing organisms.also if you are bleeding from mouth,ears and toes you may have this poisoning and 90% of the people who have gone through this will go blind for two years [4] Exposure to mercury can occur from breathing contaminated air;[5] from eating foods containing mercury residues from processing, such as can occur with high-fructose corn syrup;[6] from exposure to mercury vapor in mercury amalgam dental restorations;[7] and from improper use or disposal of mercury and mercury-containing objects, for example, after spills of elemental mercury or improper disposal of fluorescent lamps.[8]

Human-generated sources such as coal plants emit approximately half of atmospheric mercury, with natural sources such as volcanoes responsible for the remainder. An estimated two-thirds of human-generated mercury comes from stationary combustion, mostly of coal. Other important human-generated sources include gold production, non-ferrous metal production, cement production, waste disposal, human crematoria, caustic soda production, pig iron and steel production, mercury production (mostly for batteries), and biomass burning.[9]

Small independent gold mining operations employ workers who are exposed to more risk to mercury poisoning because of crude processing methods. Such is the danger for the galamsey in Ghana and similar workers known as orpailleurs in neighboring francophone countries. While there are no official government estimates of the labor force, observers believe twenty thousand to fifty thousand work as galamseys in Ghana, a figure that includes many women, who work as porters.

Mercury and many of its chemical compounds, especially organomercury compounds, can also be readily absorbed through direct contact with bare, or in some cases (such as dimethylmercury) insufficiently protected, skin. Mercury and its compounds are commonly used in chemical laboratories, hospitals, dental clinics, and facilities involved in the production of items such as fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, and explosives.[10]
[edit] Mechanism

Mercury is such a highly reactive toxic agent that it is difficult to identify its specific mechanism of damage, and much remains unknown about the mechanism.[11] It damages the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys, and other organs, and adversely affects the mouth, gums, and teeth. Exposure over long periods of time or heavy exposure to mercury vapor can result in brain damage and ultimately death. Mercury and its compounds are particularly toxic to fetuses and infants. Women who have been exposed to mercury in pregnancy have sometimes given birth to children with serious birth defects (see Minamata disease).

Mercury exposure in young children can have severe neurological consequences, preventing nerve sheaths from forming properly. Mercury inhibits the formation of myelin.

There is some evidence that mercury poisoning may predispose to Young's syndrome (men with bronchiectasis and low sperm count).[12]

Mercury poisoning's effects partially depend on whether it has been caused by exposure to elemental mercury, inorganic mercury compounds (as salts), or organomercury compounds.
[edit] Elemental mercury

Quicksilver (liquid metallic mercury) is poorly absorbed by ingestion and skin contact. It is hazardous due to its potential to release mercury vapour. Animal data indicate that less than 0.01% of ingested mercury is absorbed through the intact gastrointestinal tract; though it may not be true for individuals suffering from ileus. Cases of systemic toxicity from accidental swallowing are rare, and attempted suicide via intravenous injection does not appear to result in systemic toxicity.[11] Though not studied quantitatively, the physical properties of liquid elemental mercury limit its absorption through intact skin and in light of its very low absorption rate from the gastrointestinal tract, skin absorption would not be high.[13] Some mercury vapour is absorbed dermally but uptake by this route is only approximately 1% of that by inhalation.[14]

In humans, approximately 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed via the respiratory tract where it enters the circulatory system and is distributed throughout the body.[15] Chronic exposure by inhalation, even at low concentrations in the range 0.7–42 μg/m3, has been shown in case control studies to cause effects such as tremors, impaired cognitive skills, and sleep disturbance in workers.[16][17]
[edit] Inorganic mercury compounds

Mercury occurs inorganically as salts such as mercury(II) chloride. Mercury salts primarily affect the gastro-intestinal tract and the kidneys, and can cause severe kidney damage; however, as they can not cross the blood-brain barrier easily, mercury salts inflict little neurological damage without continuous or heavy exposure.[18] As two oxidation states of mercury form salts (Hg+ and Hg2+), mercury salts occur in both mercury(I) (or mercurous) and mercury(II) (mercuric) forms. Mercury(II) salts are usually more toxic than their mercury(I) counterparts because their solubility in water is greater; thus, they are more readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract.[18]

Hg(CN)2 is a particularly toxic mercury compound. If ingested, both life-threatening mercury and cyanide poisoning can occur. Hg(CN)2 can enter the body via inhalation, ingestion, or passage through the skin. Inhalation of mercuric cyanide irritates the throat and air passages. Heating or contact of Hg(CN)2 with acid or acid mist releases toxic mercury and cyanide vapors that can cause bronchitis with cough and phlegm and/or lung tissue irritation. Contact with eyes can cause burns and brown stains in the eyes, and long time exposure can affect the peripheral vision. Contact with skin can cause skin allergy, irritation, and gray skin color.[19]

Chronic exposure to trace amounts of the compound can lead to mercury buildup in the body over time; it may take months or even years for the body to eliminate excess mercury. Overexposure to mercuric cyanide can lead to kidney damage and/or mercury poisoning, leading to 'shakes' (ex: shaky handwriting), irritability, sore gums, increased saliva, metallic taste, loss of appetite, memory loss, personality changes, and brain damage. Exposure to large doses at one time can lead to sudden death.[19]

Mercuric cyanide has not been tested on its ability to cause reproductive damage. Although inorganic mercury compounds (such as Hg(CN)2) have not been shown to be human teratogens, they should be handled with care as they are known to damage developing embryos and decrease fertility in men and women.[19]

According to one study, two people exhibited symptoms of cyanide poisoning within hours after ingesting mercuric cyanide or mercury oxycyanide, Hg(CN)2•HgO, in suicide attempts. The toxicity of Hg(CN)2 is commonly assumed to arise almost exclusively from mercury poisoning; however, the patient who ingested mercury oxycyanide died after 5 hours of cyanide poisoning before any mercury poisoning symptoms were observed. The patient who ingested Hg(CN)2 initially showed symptoms of acute cyanide poisoning which were brought under control, and later showed signs of mercury poisoning before recovering. It is thought that the degree to which cyanide poisoning occurs is related to whether cyanide ions are released in the stomach, which depends on factors such as the amount ingested, stomach acidity, and volume of stomach contents.[20] Given that Hg(CN)2 molecules remain undissociated in pure water and in basic solutions,[21] it makes sense that dissociation would increase with increasing acidity. High stomach acidity thus helps cyanide ions to become more bioavailable, increasing the likelihood of cyanide poisoning.

Mercury cyanide was used in two murders in New York in 1898. The perpetrator, Roland B. Molineux, sent poisoned medicines to his victims through the US mail. The first victim, Henry Barnett, died of mercury poisoning twelve days after taking the poison. The second victim, Catherine Adams, died of cyanide poisoning within 30 minutes of taking the poison. As in the suicide cases, the difference between the two cases may be attributed to differences in the acidities of the solutions containing the poison, or to differences in the acidities of the victims' stomachs.[22]

The drug NAP (n-acetyl penicillamine) has been used to treat mercury poisoning with limited success.[19]
[edit] Organic mercury compounds

Compounds of mercury tend to be much more toxic than the element itself, and organic compounds of mercury are often extremely toxic and have been implicated in causing brain and liver damage. The most dangerous mercury compound, dimethylmercury, is so toxic that even a few microliters spilled on the skin, or even a latex glove, can cause death.[23][24]

Methylmercury is the major source of organic mercury for all individuals.[1] It works its way up the food chain through bioaccumulation in the environment, reaching high concentrations among populations of some species. Larger species of fish, such as tuna or swordfish, are usually of greater concern than smaller species. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advise women of child-bearing age, nursing mothers, and young children to completely avoid swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, (Golden Tilefish from the Mid- and North-Atlantic present no risk), to limit consumption of albacore ("white") tuna to no more than 6 oz (170 g) per week, and of all other fish and shellfish to no more than 12 oz (340 g) per week.[25] A 2006 review of the risks and benefits of fish consumption found that for adults the benefits of one to two servings of fish per week outweigh the risks, even (except for a few fish species) for women of childbearing age, and that avoidance of fish consumption could result in significant excess coronary heart disease deaths and suboptimal neural development in children.[26]

There is a long latent period between exposure to methylmercury and the appearance of symptoms in adult poisoning cases. The longest recorded latent period is five months after a single exposure, in the Dartmouth case (see History); other latent periods in the range of weeks to months have also been reported. No explanation for this long latent period is known. When the first symptom appears, typically paresthesia (a tingling or numbness in the skin), it is followed rapidly by more severe effects, sometimes ending in coma and death. The toxic damage appears to be determined by the peak value of mercury, not the length of the exposure.[11]

Ethylmercury is a breakdown product of the antibacteriological agent ethylmercurithiosalicylate, which has been used as a topical antiseptic and a vaccine preservative (further discussed under Thiomersal below). Its characteristics have not been studied as extensively as those of methylmercury. It is cleared from the blood much more rapidly, with a half-life of 7 to 10 days, and it is metabolized much more quickly than methylmercury. It probably does not have methylmercury's ability to cross the blood-brain barrier via a transporter, but instead relies on simple diffusion to enter the brain.[1]

Other exposure sources of organic mercury include phenylmercuric acetate and phenylmercuric nitrate. These were used in indoor latex paints for their anti-mildew properties, but were removed in 1990 because of cases of toxicity.[1]
[edit] Diagnosis

Diagnosis of elemental or inorganic mercury poisoning involves determining the history of exposure, physical findings, and an elevated body burden of mercury. Although whole blood mercury concentrations are typically less than 6 μg/L, diets rich in fish can result in blood mercury concentrations higher than 200 μg/L; it is not that useful to measure these levels for suspected cases of elemental or inorganic poisoning because of mercury's short half-life in the blood. If the exposure is chronic, urine levels can be obtained; 24-hour collections are more reliable than spot collections. It is difficult or impossible to interpret urine samples of patients undergoing chelation therapy, as the therapy itself increases mercury levels in the samples.[27]

Diagnosis of organic mercury poisoning differs in that whole-blood or hair analysis is more reliable than urinary mercury levels.[27]
[edit] Prevention

Mercury poisoning can be prevented (or minimized) by eliminating or reducing exposure to mercury and mercury compounds. To that end, many governments and private groups have made efforts to regulate the use of mercury heavily, or to issue advisories about its use. For example, the export from the European Union of mercury and some mercury compounds will be prohibited from 2010-03-15.[28] The variability among regulations and advisories is at times confusing for the lay person as well as scientists.
[29] Country↓     Regulating agency↓     Regulated activity↓     Medium↓     Type of mercury compound↓     Type of limit↓     Limit↓
US     Occupational Safety and Health Administration     occupational exposure     air     elemental mercury     Ceiling (not to exceed)     0.1 mg/m³
US     Occupational Safety and Health Administration     occupational exposure     air     organic mercury     Ceiling (not to exceed)     0.05 mg/m³
US     Food and Drug Administration     drinking     water     inorganic mercury     Maximum allowable concentration     2 ppb (0.002 mg/L)
US     Food and Drug Administration     eating     sea food     methylmercury     Maximum allowable concentration     1 ppm
US     Environmental Protection Agency     drinking     water     inorganic mercury     Maximum contaminant level     2 ppb (0.002 mg/L)

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued recommendations in 2004 regarding exposure to mercury in fish and shellfish. [30] The EPA also developed the "Fish Kids" awareness campaign for children and young adults [31] on account of the greater impact of mercury exposure to that population.
[edit] Treatment

Identifying and removing the source of the mercury is crucial. Decontamination requires removal of clothes, washing skin with soap and water, and flushing the eyes with saline solution as needed. Inorganic ingestion such as mercuric chloride should be approached as the ingestion of any other serious caustic. Immediate chelation therapy is the standard of care for a patient showing symptoms of severe mercury poisoning or the laboratory evidence of a large total mercury load.[1]

Chelation therapy for acute inorganic mercury poisoning can be done with DMSA, 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS), D-penicillamine (DPCN), or dimercaprol (BAL).[1] Only DMSA is FDA-approved for use in children for treating mercury poisoning. However, several studies found no clear clinical benefit from DMSA treatment for poisoning due to mercury vapor.[32] No chelator for methylmercury or ethylmercury is approved by the FDA; DMSA is the most frequently used for severe methylmercury poisoning, as it is given orally, has fewer side effects, and has been found to be superior to BAL, DPCN, and DMPS.[1] Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) has been shown to be protective against acute mercury poisoning in several mammalian species when it is given soon after exposure; correct dosage is required, as inappropriate dosages increase toxicity. Although it has been hypothesized that frequent low dosages of ALA may have potential as a mercury chelator, studies in rats have been contradictory.[33] Glutathione and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) are recommended by some physicians, but have been shown to increase mercury concentrations in the kidneys and the brain.[33] Experimental findings have demonstrated an interaction between selenium and methylmercury, but epidemiological studies have found little evidence that selenium helps to protect against the adverse effects of methylmercury.[34]

Even if the patient has no symptoms or documented history of mercury exposure, a minority of physicians (predominantly those in alternative medicine) use chelation to "rid" the body of mercury, which they believe to cause neurological and other disorders. A common practice is to challenge the patient's body with a chelation agent, collect urine samples, and then use laboratory reports to diagnose the patient with toxic levels of mercury; often no pre-chelation urine sample is collected for comparison. The patient is then advised to undergo further chelation.[32] No scientific data supports the claim that the mercury in vaccines causes autism[35] or its symptoms,[36] and there is no scientific support for chelation therapy as a treatment for autism.[37]

Chelation therapy can be hazardous. In August 2005, an incorrect form of EDTA used for chelation therapy resulted in hypocalcemia, causing cardiac arrest that killed a five-year-old autistic boy.[38]
[edit] Prognosis

Many of the toxic effects of mercury are partially or wholly reversible, either through specific therapy or through natural elimination of the metal after exposure has been discontinued.[39] However, heavy or prolonged exposure can do irreversible damage, particularly in fetuses, infants, and young children. Young's syndrome is believed to be a long term consequence of early childhood mercury poisoning.[40]
[edit] Detection in biological fluids

Mercury may be measured in blood or urine to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized victims or to assist in the forensic investigation in a case of fatal overdosage. Some analytical techniques are capable of distinguishing organic from inorganic forms of the metal. The concentrations in both fluids tend to reach high levels early after exposure to inorganic forms, while lower but very persistent levels are observed following exposure to elemental or organic mercury. Chelation therapy can cause a transient elevation of urine mercury levels.[41]
[edit] History

    * The first emperor of unified China, Qin Shi Huang, reportedly died of ingesting mercury pills that were intended to give him eternal life.[42]
    * The phrase mad as a hatter is likely a reference to mercury poisoning, as mercury-based compounds were once used in the manufacture of felt hats in the 18th and 19th century. (The Mad Hatter character of Alice in Wonderland was almost certainly inspired by an eccentric furniture dealer, not by a victim of mad hatter disease.)[43]
    * In 1810, two British ships, HMS Triumph and HMS Phipps, salvaged a large load of elemental mercury from a wrecked Spanish vessel near Cadiz, Spain. The bladders containing the mercury soon ruptured. The element spread about the ships in liquid and vapour forms. The sailors presented with neurologic compromises: tremor, paralysis, and excessive salivation as well as tooth loss, skin problems, and pulmonary complaints. In 1823 William Burnet, MD published a report on the effects of Mercurial vapour.[44] The Triumph’s surgeon, Henry Plowman, had concluded that the ailments had arisen from inhaling the mercurialized atmosphere. His treatment was to order the lower deck gun ports to be opened, when it was safe to do so; sleeping on the orlop was forbidden; and no men slept in the lower deck if they were at all symptomatic. Windsails were set to channel fresh air into the lower decks day and night.[45]
    * For years, including the early part of his presidency, Abraham Lincoln took a common medicine of his time called "blue mass" which contained significant amounts of mercury.
    * On September 5, 1920, silent movie actress Olive Thomas ingested mercury capsules dissolved in an alcoholic solution at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. There is still controversy over whether it was suicide, or whether she consumed the external preparation by mistake. Her husband, Jack Pickford (the brother of Mary Pickford), had syphilis, and the mercury was used as a treatment of the venereal disease at the time. She died a few days later at the American Hospital in Neuilly.
    * An early scientific study of mercury poisoning was in 1923–6 by the German inorganic chemist, Alfred Stock, who himself became poisoned, together with his colleagues, by breathing mercury vapour that was being released by his laboratory equipment—diffusion pumps, float valves, and manometers—all of which contained mercury, and also from mercury that had been accidentally spilt and remained in cracks in the linoleum floor covering. He published a number of papers on mercury poisoning, founded a committee in Berlin to study cases of possible mercury poisoning, and introduced the term micromercurialism.[46]
    * The term Hunter-Russell syndrome derives from a study of mercury poisoning among workers in a seed packing factory in Norwich, England in the late 1930s who breathed methylmercury that was being used as a seed disinfectant and preservative.[47]
    * Outbreaks of methylmercury poisoning occurred in several places in Japan during the 1950s due to industrial discharges of mercury into rivers and coastal waters. The best-known instances were in Minamata and Niigata. In Minamata alone, more than 600 people died due to what became known as Minamata disease. More than 21,000 people filed claims with the Japanese government, of which almost 3000 became certified as having the disease. In 22 documented cases, pregnant women who consumed contaminated fish showed mild or no symptoms but gave birth to infants with severe developmental disabilities.[2]
    * Widespread mercury poisoning occurred in rural Iraq in 1971-1972, when grain treated with a methylmercury-based fungicide that was intended for planting only was used by the rural population to make bread, causing at least 6530 cases of mercury poisoning and at least 459 deaths (see Basra poison grain disaster).[48]
    * On August 14, 1996, Karen Wetterhahn, a chemistry professor working at Dartmouth College, spilled a small amount of dimethylmercury on her latex glove. She began experiencing the symptoms of mercury poisoning five months later and, despite aggressive chelation therapy, died a few months later from brain malfunction due to mercury intoxication.[23][24]
    * In April 2000, Alan Chmurny attempted to kill a former employee, Marta Bradley, by pouring mercury into the ventilation system of her car.[49]
    * On March 19, 2008, Tony Winnett, 55, inhaled mercury vapors while trying to extract gold from computer parts, and died ten days later. His Oklahoma residence became so contaminated that it had to be gutted.[50][51]
    * In December 2008, actor Jeremy Piven was diagnosed with hydrargyria resulting from eating sushi twice a day for twenty years.[52]

[edit] Acrodynia

Acrodynia (also known as "calomel disease", "erythredemic polyneuropathy", and "pink disease") is a type of mercury poisoning in children characterized by pain and pink discoloration of the hands and feet.[53] The word is derived from the Greek, where άκρο means end (as in: upper extremity) and οδυνη means pain. Also known as pink disease, erythredema, Selter's disease, or Swift-Feer disease, acrodynia was relatively commonplace amongst children in the first half of the 20th century.[54] Initially, the cause of the acrodynia epidemic among infants and young children was unknown[55]; however, mercury poisoning, primarily from calomel in teething powders, began to be widely accepted as its cause in the 1950s and 60s.[54] The prevalence of acrodynia decreased greatly after calomel was excluded from most teething powders in 1954.[54]

Acrodynia is difficult to diagnose, "it is most often postulated that the etiology of this syndrome is an idiosyncratic hypersensitivity reaction to mercury because of the lack of correlation with mercury levels, many of the symptoms resemble recognized mercury poisoning."[56]
[edit] Medical procedures
    This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Because elemental mercury often passes through the GI tract without being absorbed, it was used medically for various purposes until the dangers of mercury poisoning became known. For example, elemental mercury was used to mechanically clear intestinal obstructions (due to its great weight and fluidity), and it was a key ingredient in various medicines throughout history, such as blue mass. The toxic effects often were either not noticed at all, or so subtle or generic that they were attributed to other causes and were not recognized as poisoning caused by mercury. While the usage of mercury in medicine has declined, mercury-containing compounds are still used medically in vaccines and dental amalgam, both of which have been the subject of controversy regarding their potential for mercury poisoning.
[edit] Thiomersal
For more details on this topic, see Thiomersal controversy.

The mercury-based preservative thiomersal (commonly called thimerosal in the U.S.) has been added to vaccines since the 1930s to prevent their deterioration.[11] Its use in vaccines has been hypothesized as a cause of autistic behaviors.[57] This hypothesis is controversial, as much evidence suggests that the cause of autism is about 90% genetic.[58] The hypothesis has not been confirmed by reliable studies.[59] However, organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended that the use of thiomersal be reduced as a precautionary measure. With the exception of some flu vaccines, it is no longer used as a preservative in routinely recommended childhood vaccines in the United States; it is still in limited use as a preservative in multi-dose flu and tetanus vaccines and a few other non-childhood vaccines.[60]
[edit] Dental amalgam
For more details on this topic, see Dental amalgam controversy.

Dental amalgam, an alloy of about 50% elemental mercury, was first introduced in France in the early 1800s.[61] Although this amalgam is a source of low-level exposure to mercury, no scientific evidence links it as a cause of clinically significant toxic effects, except for the rare local hypersensitivity reaction. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health has stated that amalgam fillings pose no personal health risk, and that replacement by non-amalgam fillings is not indicated.[1] In Scandinavia amalgam fillings are banned due to concerns about environmental pollution with mercury.[62]
[edit] Cosmetics

Some skin whitening products contain the toxic chemical mercury(II) chloride as the active ingredient. When applied, the chemical readily absorbs through the skin into the bloodstream.[63] The use of mercury in cosmetics is illegal in the United States. However, cosmetics containing mercury are often illegally imported. Following a certified case of mercury poisoning resulting from the use of an imported skin whitening product, the United States Food and Drug Administration warned against the use of such products.[64][65] Symptoms of mercury poisoning have resulted from the use of various mercury-containing cosmetic products.[11][66][67] The use of skin whitening products is especially popular amongst Asian women.[68] In Hong Kong in 2002, two products were discovered to contain between 9,000 to 60,000 times the recommended dose.[69]
[edit] Fluorescent lamps

Fluorescent lamps contain mercury which is released when bulbs are broken. Mercury in bulbs is typically present as either elemental mercury liquid, vapor or both since the liquid evaporates at ambient temperature.[70] When broken indoors, bulbs may emit sufficient mercury vapor to present health concerns, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends evacuating and airing out a room for at least 15 minutes after breaking a fluorescent light bulb.[71] Breakage of multiple bulbs presents a greater concern. A 1987 report described a 23-month-old toddler who suffered anorexia, weight loss, irritability, profuse sweating, and peeling and redness of fingers and toes. This case of acrodynia was traced to exposure of mercury from a carton of 8-foot fluorescent light bulbs that had broken in a potting shed adjacent to the main nursery. The glass was cleaned up and discarded, but the child often used the area for play.[72]







Mercury poisoning fibromyalgia chronic fatigue chemical sensitivity autism hyperactivity
Amalgam Illness
Diagnosis and Treatment
A book on how to cure mercury poisoning
 by Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD, PE

What is in the book


Back cover copy


Problems mercury can cause

Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents


Excerpt: Medicine and controversy

Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair

   A wide variety of debilitating and supposedly incurable conditions may actually be due to chronic mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning can be easily cured if it is recognized. These conditions are seldom cured because mercury poisoning is believed to be rare. It is not. It is quite common. Thus, many people suffer needlessly.

     Many of today's "mystery syndromes" that physicians don't know how to treat at all - fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, anorexia, recurrent depression - aren't mystery syndromes. They are just mercury poisoning. Treating them as mercury poisoning cures them, while the usual treatments are seldom effective in the long term.

     This book gives practical guidance on how to tell if you really have chronic mercury poisoning or some other problem. If mercury poisoning is your problem, the book tells you how to get the mercury out of your body, and how to feel good while you do that.

     Sections also explain how the scientific literature shows many people must be getting poisoned by their amalgam fillings, why such a regulatory blunder occurred, and how the debate between "mainstream" and "alternative" medicine makes it more difficult for you to get the medical help you need.

     Most of the book is devoted to what you can do to treat the symptoms of amalgam illness while you get rid of your mercury. The treatment section gives step by step directions to figure out exactly what mercury is doing to you and how to fix it.  You can feel better soon. This book tells you how.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment was written by a research chemist who himself got mercury poisoning from his amalgam dental fillings. He found that there was no suitable educational material for either the patient or the physician. Knowing how much people can suffer from this condition, he wrote this book to help them get well fast.


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     Don't waste any more time wondering whether you have a mercury problem, or what to do about it. Get Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment, find out, and get well!

Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment
 What you can do to get better
 How your doctor can help
 by Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD, PE
 ISBN 0-9676168-0-8




What is in the book

Top


Back cover copy


Problems mercury can cause

Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents


Excerpt: Medicine and controversy

Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment starts with a detailed explanation of why to consider amalgam illness to be something that some people must have by comparing the well known statistics for how much mercury people absorb from their fillings to the well known statistics of how sensitive different members of a population are to a given toxin. This is for people who really don't know if they believe in amalgam illness or not (the other material available is rather sensational and I can't blame anyone reading it for having questions) before going any further.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment discusses how to deal with physicians if you think you have a controversial disease - especially if you have the great "luck" to be covered by a managed care plan.

     A key section is devoted to diagnosis - how to tell if you actually have amalgam illness instead of something else. It is also possible to be mercury poisoned from something other than amalgam, and the testing and examination described here is diagnostic regardless of the source.

     How to get the dental work done safely if you have decided amalgam fillings are the problem is briefly described - there is a robust industry of amalgam free dentists if you know how to look for them. The use of drugs and nutritional supplements to get the mercury out of your system is carefully presented- there are some important factors here that are not well described in the previous books on the subject and not all physicians who claim they know what to do actually give good advice.

     Then comes what turns out to be the major section of the book - how to treat all the related health conditions amalgam illness can cause so as to relieve them while mercury detoxification proceeds. Since amalgam illness is not widely recognized in the medical community, most people with it get pretty sick before they get motivated to bounce around between doctors and eventually end up in front of one who tells them about it. So most victims have pretty serious, unpleasant health problems (like fibromyalgia or severe allergies) and they really need to make these STOP for the year or two it can take to get fully detoxed and let your body heal.

     There are extensive tables of what to use for different conditions, a description of all the drugs and nutritional supplements suggested in the book, and appendices covering things like what the assorted clinical laboratory tests you might get actually mean, what other helpful books are that you might use, and supporting information like what the chelating agents are and how they work.


Back cover copy

Top


What is in the book


Problems mercury can cause

Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents


Excerpt: Medicine and controversy

Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







This book explains how the modern epidemic of disabling, incurable chronic diseases is due to unrecognized mercury poisoning. Many conditions, from Parkinson's disease and autism - widely recognized as terrible afflictions - to those like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia which, though equally serious, are disparaged as "Yuppie flu" can be undiagnosed mercury poisoning. The book explains WHY mercury poisoning is so widespread, yet seldom diagnosed. Proper diagnostic procedures are given so that sick people can decide what is wrong rather than trying random treatments. This book explains how to cure chronic mercury poisoning, what to do to control the problems it causes, and provides the real technical information needed for diagnosis and treatment in a straightforward manner. This down to earth book lets patients take care of themselves. It also lets doctors who are not familiar with chronic mercury intoxication treat it. The book is a practical guide to getting well.




Problems mercury can cause

 Mercury can cause a bewildering variety of problems. In fact, one of the major criticisms of amalgam illness is that it is cited as the cause of so many things. But, like the parable of the blind men and the elephant, mercury can indeed cause many diseases. Modern physicians are not trained to find the root cause of a sick person's problems. They are trained to translate what they see into latin, look it up in their textbook, and apply a cookbook treatment. With a toxin that poisons fundamental metabolic processes different people will experience different symptoms to start off, depending on their own individual biochemistry. As the poisoning becomes more and more serious, further symptoms surface and the modern doctor adds more diagnoses - a patient who starts with depression might later be considered to have hypothyroidism, allergies and asthma in addition. But no thought is given to why one person should develop more and more "diseases," when a single diagnosis - chronic mercury poisoning - could account for them all.

Some of the "diseases" a modern physician might mistakenly misdiagnose chronic mercury poisoning as are:



Addison's disease


Gastritis

Allergies


Hypogonadism

Alzheimer's' disease


Hypothyroidism

Amylotrophic lateral sclerosis


Infertility

Ankylosing spondylitis


Insomnia

Anorexia nervosa


Irritable bowel syndrome

Anxiety


Juvenile arthritis

Asthma


Learning disabilities

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder


Lupus erythromatosus

Autoimmune disease


Manic depression

Bipolar disorder


Multiple chemical sensitivities

Borderline personality disorder


Multiple sclerosis

Bulimia


Myasthenia gravis

Candidiasis


Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Chronic fatigue


Panic attacks

Colitis


Parkinson's disease

Crohn's disease


Pervasive developmental disorder

Depression


Psychosis

Endocrine disorders


Rheumatoid arthritis

Environmental illness


Schizophrenia

Fibromyalgia


Sciatica

Food allergies


Sleep disorders




Yeast syndrome

Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment is a practical guide to getting well. It does not stop at saying you MIGHT have mercury poisoning if you have one or more of these. It tells you how to find out. Quantitative diagnostic procedures are included so that you can decide whether your problems are due to mercury poisoning or not.



Table of Contents

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Excerpt: Medicine and controversy

Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







 Introduction
 Where to start if you think you have amalgam illness
 How to use this book
 What is in this book
 Using other books
 Using the internet



 Medicine, controversy, and mercury
 The mercury controversy and me
 Scientific or dogmatic medicine?
 Mainstream and alternative medicine
 Physical versus mental illness
 How can a doctor help you?
 Why doctors should read this book
 Discussion for physicians
 The pressures of managed care
 A warning to physicians and patients alike

 Why worry about mercury poisoning?
 Chronic mercury poisoning is widespread
 Clinical Studies highlight a dichotomy
 Flawed clinical trials fail to resolve the mercury issue.
 Current levels of mercury exposure are known to poison people
 Only people who are immune to mercury work with it
 Sources of mercury exposure
 Fish mercury is a small concern
 Mercury exposure levels
 Mercury poisoning doesn't get diagnosed properly
 People at risk for mercury poisoning - but not from amalgam
 What not to worry about

 What mercury poisoning does to you
 Description of chronic mercury poisoning
 Complication by other toxins
 How mercury hurts you
 How your body handles mercury
 Mercury shows up in sick people
 Physiology in outline
 The physiological effects of mercury intoxication
 Copper metabolism

 Do you have it? How to diagnose mercury poisoning
 What to do if you can't get medical help
 First, do no harm.
 How to diagnose chronic mercury poisoning
 Diagnostic checklist for mercury intoxication
 Counting procedure
 Further discussion of diagnosis
 Old (possibly unrecognized) exposure
 Arsenic, cadmium, lead and copper
 Copper versus mercury poisoning

 What to do about mercury poisoning
 Diet
 Day to day practicality
 How to keep your life together during treatment
 Short instructions to the doctor when amalgam illness is suspected
 Outline: treatment for mercury tox
 What to do in case of an adverse reaction to improper chelation protocol
 The doctor's approach to the patient with chronic mercury poisoning
 Dental treatment
 Dental work details
 Medical Treatment
 Introduction
 Children
 Chelation
 Intravenous vitamin C
 Testing table and suggestions
 Fibromyalgia
 Fatigue
 Amino acid analysis
 Magnesium, potassium, copper and iron
 Fatty acids
 Oxidative stress
 Heart pain (angina)
 Kidneys
 Digestive tract
 Skin
Allergy
 Autoimmunity
 Susceptibility to infection
 Immune function
 Liver metabolism
 Sulfur metabolism
 Hypoglycemia
 Hormone profile
 Pituitary
 Hormone interactions
 Thyroid
 Wilson's disease
 Adrenal insufficiency
 Sex hormones
 Growth hormone
 Sleep
 Brain function
 Side effects and adverse reactions
 Hospitals and avoiding harmful care
 Psychiatric emergencies
 What will happen - Prognosis

 What to take for mercury poisoning
 Chelating agents
 Pain relief (analgesics)
 Antioxidants
 Anti-anxiety agents (anxiolytics)
 Liver support
 Digestive tract support
 Anti-yeast (candida)
 Anti-parasites
 Antidepressants
 Manic depression (bipolar disorder)
 Brain support
 Immune support
 Asthma/allergy suppression
 Adrenal issues
 Hypoglycemia
 Blood pressure
 Hormones (endocrine system)
 Insomnia
 Achiness or fibromyalgia
 Energy improvement
 Anti-mercury supplements
 Heart
 Summary table of therapeutic agents
 Descriptions of stuff you can take (Materia medica)

 Appendix
 Useful books
 Other references cited
 Diagnostic tests - when to perform them and what they mean
 Therapy with Prescription Medications
 Prednisolone taper
 Magnesium and vitamin C injections
 Food
 How to get your medical records
 Sources
 Chelation Considerations
 DMPS, DMSA, LA, BAL, PA and Cysteine structural formulae
 Chelating agent pharmacokinetics
 Mathematical background for diagnosis
 Symptomatic diagnosis - accurate numeric procedure derived
 The toxic threshold for mercury
 Dental amalgam - major source of mercury exposure
 Cutaneous absorption of mercury
 Iatrogenic exposure to mercury
 Iatrogenic self exposure to mercury
 Index

 List of figures
 Figure 1. Mercury comparison of poisoned dentists and students as measured
 Figure 2. Mercury comparison of poisoned dentists and the general population
 Figure 3. Mercury is metabolized differently by assorted types of people
 Figure 4. How different parts of your brain control your hormones
 Figure 5. Simplified figure of the important steroid hormones
 Figure 6. Complete figure of steroid hormones made by your gonads and adrenal glands
 Figure 7. Figure showing the metabolism of sulfur amino acids and related compounds
 Figure 8. Simplified figure showing the metabolism and effects of essential fatty acids
 Figure 9. Complete figure showing the metabolism and effects of essential fatty acids
 Figure 10. Schematic illustration of cell membrane function
 Figure 11. Phase 1 liver metabolism
 Figure 12. Phase 2 liver metabolism
 Figure 13. Blood sugar and brain energy after a meal
 Figure 14. Blood sugar and brain energy when you haven't eaten for a while
 Figure 15. Brain mercury and how you feel after amalgam removal
 Figure 16. T3 and T4 levels on various forms of thyroid hormone
 Figure 17. Normal relationship between ACTH and cortisol in healthy resting people
 Figure 18. Normal relationship between T3 and T4 in healthy people
 Figure 19. Normal relationship between free T4 and TSH in healthy people
 Figure 20. Schematic illustration of how different anti-mercury drugs work in the body
 Figure 21. Blood concentration of chelating agent for various administration schedules
 Figure 22. Structure of various chelating agents and anti-mercury drugs

 List of tables
 Table 1. Average nonoccupational exposure to mercury
 Table 2. The effect of the various hormones on the body
 Table 3. Phase 2 metabolic pathways and how to affect them
 Table 4. Effects of medicines and supplements on diagnostic tests
 Table 5. Statistical tables for diagnosis based on standard assumptions
 Table 6. Statistical tables for diagnosis based on conservative assumptions
 Table 7. Common problems and possible treatments in mercury poisoning
 Table 8. Summary table of therapeutic agents
 Table 9. 24 hour urinary creatinine versus height and sex
 Table 10. Correction factor table for testosterone measurements
 Table 11. "One size fits all" short prednisolone taper
 Table 12. Prednisolone tapers by body weight and initial mg/kg desired
 Table 13. Mercury excretion on various chelation regimes
 Table 14. Conversion table for comparison of different challenge test results
 Table 15. Diagnostic probability table based on low population incidence
 Table 16. Diagnostic probability table based on high population incidence
 Table 17. Factors for exact diagnostic calculation from symptoms




Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







Excerpt from the Book:
Medicine, Controversy and Mercury

This is not the first time in the history of modern medicine that a very obvious disease was belittled and ignored.  Until recently it was believed that ulcers were entirely psychosomatic.  Ulcer sufferers underwent prolonged treatment,  were seldom cured,  and often ended up under the surgeon's knife.  After years of intense criticism and ridicule - about 20 years after the research was published - it has finally been accepted that most ulcers are due to helicobacter pylorii infection which can be easily cured with appropriate antibiotic therapy.  At least by the medical schools and licensing boards.  Yet it is still common to find physicians who still treat ulcers by prescribing acid suppressors - as if they resulted from too much stomach acid.

 Cholesterol was held out as the root cause of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease for about 30 years during which the correct evidence that elevated homocysteine played a major role was ridiculed and ignored.

 Older physicians still remember when "there was no such thing as Epstein Barr Virus (mononucleosis)."

 And who can forget Lyme disease?  A housewife fell ill.   Her arthritis and other symptoms were diagnosed as psychosomatic. When her husband and children came down with similar symptoms, this was regarded as some kind of projection of her psychosomatic complaint.  She was eventually able to convince physicians that the only crazy thing was assuming that something psychosomatic could be contagious!

 Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome is still routinely considered a psychiatric disorder despite the repeated publication of physical and laboratory abnormalities always found in victims of it.  When it can no longer be ignored,  it is dismissed with a bit of namecalling - "Yuppie flu."

 And in less recent times,  another form of mercury poisoning - acrodynia - was endemic for 150 years until physicians recognized mercury as the causal agent. The disease was promptly eliminated by changing the formulation of certain infant care products.

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: What mercury does to you


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







Excerpt from the Book:
Mainstream versus Alternative Medicine

 It is common for two conflicting but legitimate segments of the medical community to be at odds as to the methods for diagnosing and treating certain conditions.  Where there is more than one recommended method of diagnosis or therapy and none of them are used exclusively and uniformly by all physicians,  a physician is acting ethically and in accordance with the law if he uses one of these approved methods,  even if it later turns out to be the wrong one.

 Thus,  in controversial areas,  the burden really is on the patient to decide whether to accept the physician's diagnosis and proposed treatment plan,  or to seek another.  This is why patients' rights exist and are strongly protected by law.  So if you are getting diagnoses like "there is nothing wrong," or "it's all in your head" and proposed treatment plans like "try ignoring it and seeing if it goes away,"  you have no obligation to accept these.  If you want another diagnosis or treatment plan,  you have to find another physician who follows different methods of diagnosis and treatment for this kind of condition.




Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: Overview of treatment

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair










Excerpt from the Book:
What Mercury Poisoning Does to You

In an overall lifestyle sense,  the fact that symptoms come and go leads to the victim having periods of weeks to years of being highly functional and productive,  interspersed with periods of being nonproductive and having a hard time getting anything done.  Life seems to progress in fits and starts. Great progress is made on projects which later get shelved for long periods. As the disease continues,  the productive periods become shorter,  fewer, and farther between.

 There are emotional changes in mercury poisoning.  Depression slowly sets in.  Victims feel fatigued and listless.  They lack motivation - even for crucial tasks.  They lose interest in their surroundings and in their own life.  They do not enjoy life,  or experience happiness or joy.  They experience constant fear e. g. of losing their job.  They may be very tense.  They feel hopeless.  They have a sense of impending doom.  Every small problem is discouraging.  Minor difficulties seem overwhelming and insurmountable.

 The altered emotional state of a mercury intoxicated person leads to impaired interpersonal relationships.  They become increasingly irritable and sensitive,  reacting strongly to relatively innocent remarks.  They may not be able to take orders,  instructions, or suggestions without losing their temper.  They resent criticism and may interpret innocent remarks critically.  They may have an exaggerated response to stimulation and become fearful or anxious and nervous.  They may project their fears and anxieties onto others,  making inappropriate criticisms or attacks.  They become shy and avoid dealing with strangers.  While timid,  they may unexpectedly lose self control with strangers.  They may wish to visit with friends and family extensively,  often wishing to engage in long,  repetitive conversations,  then withdraw for prolonged periods of time.  They withdraw more and more from social contacts.

 Intelligence gradually deteriorates.  Previously bright persons become dull and slow in thinking.  They suffer from a progressive decline specifically affecting short term memory as well as the faculties for logical reasoning.  Thus their ability to do things like balance the checkbook,  do math,  or play chess suffers.  They lose the ability to concentrate. Memory problems may be more from distractability and inability to concentrate and pay enough attention to get things INTO their memory than an actual failure to remember things (thus they may complain of memory problems but do well on memory tests).  They cease being motivated towards their work or other tasks.  Thoughts become heavy, repetitive and pedantic. Creative thinking becomes progressively more difficult,  eventually becoming impossible.  They become unable to select the right words to convey their meaning,  and make stylistic and grammatical errors.  Their ability to express themselves declines progressively.

 There is a distinctive cognitive symptom of being unable to think clearly without great effort.  The best description for people who have not experienced it is of a hangover without pain.  People who have experienced it will recognize the term "brain fog" as entirely descriptive.

 As the victim's level of intoxication waxes and wanes they go through periods of life when they do or do not dream.  Dreaming may be in black and white.

 Early physical symptoms include dizziness,  tinnitus (ringing in the ears), insomnia,  daytime drowsiness,  loss of appetite,  a tendency towards diarrhea - often alternating with constipation,  cold hands and feet,  a tendency towards sweating (some people have the opposite symptom and do not sweat at all), flushing or reddening of the skin - particularly on the face and neck. Some people blush frequently, but others do not blush at all.  Asthma is a symptom of chronic mercury poisoning.  Digestive disturbances are also common.

 The skin becomes dry,  athlete's foot and toenail fungus progress,  and the insides of the ankles, particularly behind the ankle bone and a bit above it become dry,  itchy,  flaky and peel.  This often becomes painful and annoying enough to keep the victim up at night.  Even after fungus and yeast infection has been eliminated hyperkeratosis,  often with papular erythema and itching are common.

 The hair becomes thinner,  dryer,  duller,  less strongly colored,  slower growing,  and more brittle.

 The biological clock is disturbed.  Waking up late and staying up late is more common than being an "early bird." Try as they might,  the mercury poisoned person simply cannot control their circadian rhythm.

 Victims may become photophobic and find bright light uncomfortable and unpleasant.  There may be visual disturbances,  including alterations in color perception leading to reduced sensitivity to the color red,  or color blindness.  The ability to focus on distant objects may be sporadically impaired. Peripheral vision may be reduced in the most severe cases.

 The hands and feet often become distinctly cold.  This can occur suddenly and is most distinctive when combined with sweating.  Later in more severe poisoning they may also tingle or lose feeling.

 The effects of mercury on the mouth are receding,  sometimes spongy gums that bleed easily and teeth that are 'loose' in their sockets and can be wiggled very slightly.  It also causes excessive salivation and unusually bad breath.

 Mercury interferes with the sense of smell which becomes less acute,  and later with hearing,  in which perception of sounds does not diminish as notably as the patient's ability to understand and interpret them - e. g. to understand speech directed at them even though they hear it clearly.

 Victims often experience discomfort that feels like a "tight band around their head."  They may also experience sharp points of discomfort in their ear canals at bedtime.

 Mercury also interferes with the body's ability to regulate temperature. Victims may alternate between being hot and cold when the temperature isn't changing,  or have to wear more clothes than other people,  or have more difficulty than other people in staying comfortable while the temperature changes.  Temperature disregulation also leads to 'night sweats.'

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair










Excerpt from the Book:
Overview of Treatment

Amalgam illness is analogous to a war.  Your enemy,  mercury,  captured a beachhead in your teeth and fortified it with amalgam.  Then it launched an attack.  House to house.  Organ to organ.  Cell to cell.  Slowly capturing your body.  You win the war with a surgical strike.  Dental surgery.  Drill out those fillings.  Removing your amalgam declares an armistice.  Fighting stops,  but the mercury atoms are still dug in wherever they reached.  Chelation sends clean up squads off to round up the enemy and escort them out.  Meanwhile the surviving cells in your body get to work and to repair the war damage.  Supplementation is like disaster relief - it makes the process go a lot faster.

 There are two goals to treatment.  First,  get rid of the mercury.  Second, control symptoms so you can be comfortable and productive during the prolonged period when mercury is removed and healing takes place.  In order to control your symptoms it is necessary to identify the metabolic defects mercury is causing for you.

 In your ongoing battle to control symptoms while the mercury comes out and your body repairs all the damage,  you need to take a straightforward, common sense approach.

Know yourself.  If you react to everything,  go slow,  start with small doses of things,  be patient.  Don't be any more aggressive than your body and your psyche can tolerate.

Start with the problems that are causing other problems.

If your digestion is not working,  get your guts fixed up since this will take a load off your liver and let you get helpful supplements and medicines into you.

Make sure your hormones are working right.  Treat your body,  not numbers on a lab report.

Solve the other troublesome problems,  and find solutions that work for you.

 It is very common for mercury poisoned people to have been treated for depression,  and for most MD's to diagnose them as "just depressed."  While depression is often present it is not the cause of the problem.  It should be treated to reduce suffering.  The underlying problems causing it must be identified and treated too - just treating depression is like continuing to give painkillers day after day for a broken arm instead of setting it and putting it in a cast.

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: Overview of treatment


What people have to say


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair










Excerpt from the Book:
What to Expect - Prognosis

Both you and your doctor need to know how long it takes before you get well,  and what do you expect along the way.

 Using a proper protocol,  e. g. DMSA every 3-4 hours on alternate weeks:  2-6 months to feel better.  Then DMSA + LA every 3-4 hours 3 or 4 days every week or two to clear the brain and internal organs,  2-6 months to feel better.  Continue supplements and diet control with continuing DMSA + LA chelation while healing takes place,  another 4-30 months to good physical and mental health.  Total time:  1 to 4 years if you stick with the program.

 The big determiner of how long it takes is the DMSA+LA phase.  That depends on how seriously poisoned you got.

You feel depressed,  tired,  icky.  You are moderately poisoned.  6-11 months of DMSA+LA treatment will be required.  You will FEEL cured immediately if you take the right supplements and medicines,  but you have to chelate to get rid of the mercury.

You are starting to get stuff like chronic fatigue,  fibromyalgia, environmental sensitivities,  severe allergies or asthma,  emotional disturbances.  14-25 months of DMSA-LA will be required.  You will feel MUCH better with the proper supplements and medicines and be able to get on with life pretty quickly.

You have multiple chemical sensitivities,  chronic fatigue syndrome,  serious emotional disturbances.  You really are not able to participate in life.  You are very seriously poisoned.  You will need 20-36 months of DMSA+LA to get well.  You will need proper supplements and medications to be at all functional and will need to pay careful attention to continuing them and adjusting them for 2-3 years until you are detoxed enough that your health isn't coming out of a pill bottle.

 If you continue to chelate with DMSA+LA for 6 months to a year after you are sure you are well you will remove more mercury from your brain and greatly reduce the chances of future problems,  neurological disease,  or premature aging.

 If you follow a standard "alternative medicine" or "witch doctor" protocol,  e. g. DMSA every other day or DMPS injections monthly:  you will get worse for 6 months to one year,  then slowly get better for another several years - but behavioral and coordination problems are exacerbated by this therapy and emotional symptoms are not alleviated.  There is also a substantial risk of psychiatric illness.  Total time: a year of misery,  5 years to feel better,  but you never will be completely well.

 If you drill out your fillings then do nothing:  about the same thing will happen as with the "witch doctor" protocol,  but without the side effects, expense, or risk of insanity.

What people have to say about
Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: Overview of treatment


Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


About the author

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







 What reviewers have to say

Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment provides practical tools for use in trying to sort out a health problem. Himself and amalgam victim, Cutler describes the weird world of an amalgam patient in a very initiated way. Mercury and other heavy metals take up residence in the active site of liver enzymes where some essential substance is supposed to be sitting. The enzymes stop detoxifying pollutants and naturally occurring toxins and the victim becomes more sensitive to air quality, foods and chemicals. ... A chelating agent ... has two or more thiol groups in the same molecule which hold onto the mercury more tightly and is more likely to be able to move it out of the body safely. ... The objective of the suggested treatment is to minimize the redistribution of mercury, and to get it out of the system. (Heavy Metal Bulletin, volume 5 number 3 August 1999)


What readers have to say

    This book will give you the ammunition you will need to successfully recover from amalgam illness. It will also help you avoid making bad decisions about treatment. Patient-friendly and detailed, it is a blueprint which points you in the right direction for each symptom and area of suffering. Do not proceed without this surprisingly thorough book.

            L. M. S.
                            Chicago, Illinois



    This is the book you need!  Andrew Cutler has written an exceptional and enlightening book on the devastating health affects caused by amalgam fillings in your teeth. No one ever speaks as knowingly as those with experience. The author, himself a victim of mercury poisoning and a respected research scientist offers a clear, concise description of the physical and neurological destruction mercury causes in the human body. Clearly explained in language the patient can understand, yet the book is medically and scientifically detailed enough to belong in every physician's library.

    Do you know that dental amalgams - commonly referred to as silver fillings - are composed of 50% mercury? Despite what you may have been told, the mercury is not safely locked into the filling once it hardens. Mercury migrates from the tooth into your body and brain via several pathways, which are thoroughly explained in this book. If you have amalgam fillings in your teeth and find yourself plagued with a host of illnesses or symptoms your physician cannot resolve this book is a must read. Dr. Cutler has created a much needed and valuable resource for the victims of mercury poisoning. Finding a doctor knowledgeable on chronic mercury poisoning from amalgams is very difficult if not next to impossible. This book will arm you with the knowledge and information you need to make sure your doctor is following a protocol that will help you recover, rather than one that might harm your health even further.

    This book will also enlighten the medical and dental professions; and of even more importance to you personally, it will put you on the path to recovering your health. As a recovering victim of mercury poisoning myself, I have read many books on this subject.  Not having a background in medicine or biology some of them were next to impossible for me to wade through as I searched for a cause of my illness; Dr. Cutler's book is straightforward and to the point. Some books were easy to understand, but did not offer the depth of scientific information presented by Dr. Cutler. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Cutler for providing such a candid, well researched, enlightening, and thoroughly comprehensive resource. I have had the pleasure of referring this book to many other victims of this most preventable illness; all agree this book is the most helpful resource available.

    My doctor was so impressed with this book she ordered it before I left her office. Doctors are as much in the dark about this illness as are we, the victims of chronic mercury poisoning. This book is a real eye opener and will save you years of trudging from doctor to doctor as I did in search of the cause of my failing health. When all the while the cause of my illness was truly just beneath my nose. If you have amalgam fillings in your teeth and are plagued with chronic health problems you will find the solution in the scientific research and unriddling answers found in this book. Dr. Cutler has definitively revealed the mystery behind a host of illnesses caused by amalgam, along with invaluable knowledge on how you can recover.

    In gratitude for this inspiring book I'd like to quote, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

                            Lives of great men all remind us
                            We can make our lives sublime,
                            And, departing leave behind us
                            Footprints on the sands of time.

    Andrew Cutler left one giant footprint in his stride, offering help and hope to those of us suffering the devastating effects of chronic mercury poisoning. Thank you for this book, Andy.

            Linda Godsey
Houston,  Texas



    This book is an excellent resource for people who are having a health problem & their doctor does not have a clue. The book empowers you, the patient to work with your doctor and get the care you need. It gives you information on effective medical treatments your "health plan doctor" might not be aware of. It tells you how to use scientific fundamentals to interpret clinical laboratory tests to find the problem(s) so you can guide your busy doctor to fix it.

    As an introduction, Dr.Cutler guide you thorough the maze of the internal politics of modern medicine in finding the physician willing to help you. Then he presents compelling scientific evidence that a large number of people may have a mercury poisoning and describes the current bureaucratic catch-22 preventing the proper regulation of mercury in health care products.

    Chronic mercury poisoning is described and a rigorous diagnostic procedure is presented so you can determine whether you DO have a problem with mercury, and if not what might be affecting your health.

    Straightforward practical advice is given on how to get rid of the mercury with a minimum of side effect. Working through the details of the treatment section allows you to identify the nutritional supplements and medications you will need to start feeling better soon.

    This book is a roadmap for your return to health if you are among the millions of people unknowingly exposed to more mercury than your body can handle.

            Attila Hethely
Irvine, California



    I had a history of depression and other health problems. Then my mouth started to come apart - bleeding gums and all kinds of problems that had an oral surgeon ready cut.  I was on my way to losing my teeth just like my sister had.

    Luckily I heard about amalgam (mercury) poisoning before the surgeon got to me.  In 1993 I replaced my fillings and crowns with mercury free materials.  My buccal pockets and gums healed immediately and the oral surgeon was forced to remove me  from his list.

    Over the next seven years despite having eliminated mercury exposure from my mouth, I developed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFIDS), candida overgrowth, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and was even diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) by brain MRI.  Later, a spinal tap showed that I did not have multiple sclerosis,  but I continued to suffer from symptoms of the disease, like numbness and tingling of the arms and legs, rapid heartbeat, and head tremors and twitches. I didn't know that those disorders were related to the mercury in my body that had leached from my teeth and into my body and brain.

    In those seven years following my amalgam removal, mercury levels in my urine  and blood dropped from "off the charts" to near zero.  But the symptoms were  worsening.  Constant pressure in the brain, numbness and tingling in the extremities, rapid heart beat, complete constipation, high cholesterol, high  H-Pylori titers, low thyroid, low blood pressure, chronic fatigue, brain fog,  cognitive/memory problems documented by neuropsychological testing, and on and on.  I was so sick that I could no longer work.

    Then I finally learned about the metabolism of mercury.  Dr. Cutler's book  explains how once in my brain, the mercury just wasn't going to come out by  itself.  And mercury in the brain doesn't only cause neurological symptoms -  but since the brain controls hormones and the immune system, everything in the body can be effected from having mercury in the brain.  And everything WAS coming apart!

    Dr. Cutler's book doesn't stop after telling you how terribly poisoned you  could be by dental fillings; it actually tells you how to get the mercury  out of your brain and get well.  Dr. Cutler not only studied American medical journals to formulate this protocol, but overseas medical journals as well.  He shows you how to safely remove mercury from your body and brain using alpha lipoic acid, an over-the-counter antioxidant.

    The most important things to remember about chelating with lipoic acid are to (1) go slowly and (2) to take the doses (25 mg to 120 mg according to  tolerance) every 3 to 4 hours around the clock.  Dr. Cutler explains how this method keeps the blood levels of lipoic acid stable in order to move the Hg from the brain and eliminate it, not merely redistribute it to other places.

    Most of the neurological symptoms I've suffered from are gone now.  They don't come and go; they are just gone. The rapid heart beat stopped, along with the numbness and tingling of the extremities, and the tremor and twitches in my head.  My blood pressure has come up from 70/40 to 120/80 - perfectly normal. My cholesterol has dropped from 305 to 240.  My facial color is no longer ghastly white, but rather a normal and natural color.  H-Pylori titers (a bacteria associated with peptic ulcers and cancer) have gone from 6 plus to 1.37 without medication.

    I'm thrilled I found a way to improve these stubborn health problems that refused to budge with any other means.  Believe me, I had tried everything. If you want toget well from CFIDS, candida, MS, and other neurological problems please don't overlook this book, Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment. Then follow the directions for how to get well safely!

            Anne Marquez, Ph. D.
                            Rohnert Park,  California




    This book contains a wealth of information for anyone who is or suspects they might be suffering from mercury poisoning and for any health practitioners who are trying to help patients who have mercury poisoning.  It provides excellent advice on how to start feeling better right away and how to recover from mercury poisoning while carrying on with one's life.  The information is accessible to lay people but technical information is introduced as necessary.  If you are suffering from any of the conditions mentioned on this webside, you would do well to start your search for a cure by reading this book.

            Rosemary Carter, Ph. D.
                            Crescent Valley, British Columbia




    Dr. Cutler is the most wonderful technical writer I have ever read. He takes a very complicated chemical reaction and breaks it down to a level easy enough for almost any layman to understand. A must read for anyone with a child that might have any heavy metal poisoning or anyone that might be poisoned by heavy metal themselves.

    Dr. Cutler gives detailed step by step directions to identify possible exposures, diagnosis, and treatments of heavy metal poisoning unlike any other author I have read. He not only details the causes and effects brilliantly, he inspires the reader to get help if it is indicated.
He takes a wonderfully unique look at what could be an epidemic in the United States. This book explains the what, wheres, and hows of Mercury and heavy metal poisonings.

    I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone that might be suffering from Mercury or Lead poisoning.
Dr. Cutler is such an awesome writer on such a complicated subject. Thank you!

            Lisa Wilson
College Park, Maryland



    I wish this book was available in 1996 when I first discovered that I had amalgam illness. I could have avoided some mistakes with regards to "challenge tests" and "intra-muscular DMPS chelation".

    The book has some highly detailed material on a wide range of health issues. For the first time, I was able to understand the exact mechanics of my severe hypoglycemia. "First low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) occors due to low cortisol. Then adrenaline shoots up to mobolize glucose. Since adrenaline can't do this very well without adequate cortisol, vast tidal waves of it wash over you and the 'psychiatric' symptoms occur...If your body has too much insulin floating around, it can't get rid of the stuff so there is insulin making your cells suck up blood sugar and keeping it low." ...This book will play a valuable role in my quest for health.

            Anonymous reviwer
                            Michigan



    Dr. Cutler's book Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment is really awesome. I was a little leery of the...price but WOW, you DO get your money's worth. First, it is 200 pages, 8" x 11" paper with very little white space. It's full of information. And he has managed to pull off a very difficult trick of putting in a ton of practical information, thoroughly covering the subject of mercury toxicity and chelation and doing so in an easy to read format. It covers what mercury does to all the different organs, how to diagnosis it, and what your options are for treating it. If I had read this in the beginning I wouldn't have been so confused and fumbling around for months trying to figure out the mysterious world of chelation! Now it doesn't seem like this big scary thing at all. He covers many medications and supplements as well.

            Karen deFelice
                            Iowa



    Dr. Cutler tells it like it is. No cover-ups here like the one from the .... How do I know? My wife is extremely ill from dental amalgam poisoning for more than 20 years. She is seriously chronically poisoned. After so much lying from dentists and ignorance from medical doctors, here comes a good book that sheds light to one of the most insidious forms of sickness, mercury poisoning! Even after all mercury amalgams are replaced by safe composites, the next nightmare comes when trying to figure out how to get rid of the mercury already inside your brain, nervous system, kidneys, blood, etc from an already debilitated and compromised body.

    Dr. Cutler says on page 54: "First, do no harm. Note: the DMPS challenge is not a legitimate diagnostic test since over half the population will give a positive result but most of them do not appear to have amalgam illness. In addition there is a high incidence of adverse drug reactions during it, including permanent disability and death. It should never be used. DMSA challenge tests that involve the administration of 500 mg - 3g of DMSA as a single dose are also dangerous and not diagnostic."

    Dr. Cutler says on page 89: "Therapeutic approaches currently offered by some practitioners but which should NEVER be used include: DMPS by injection except when oral administration is contraindicated and dosage is low, DMPS or DMSA on any schedule not involving frequent administration of equal doses for at least several days in a row, EDTA chelation, or penicillamine in any form. Supplementary cysteine, glutathione, or a "high sulfur" diet, or chlorella should NOT be used. All of these "therapies" will be VERY HARMFUL to you."

    Dr. Cutler says in page 90: "For most people the proper chelation protocol using DMSA and LA (Lipoic Acid) is: . Starting 4 days after the last filling is replaced, 50-100 mg DMSA every 4 hours (including getting up at night to take a dose) for 2-6 months, until urine mercury is reduced 80%. . Then DMSA 50-100 mg + LA (Lipoic Acid) 50-200 mg every 3-4 hours (including getting up at night to take a dose) for about 3 days per week. When you feel all better, keep going for a few months. You may need to do this anywhere from 6 to 36 months depending on how sick you were to start and how hard your body holds on to the mercury. . It is important to keep taking your supplements and medicines during the whole time you are chelating."

Thanks Dr. Cutler. .....

            Kenneth Southwell
                                Spring Hill, Florida



About the Author

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: Overview of treatment


Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say

What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







Andrew Cutler is a health care consultant in the Seattle area. He has a PhD in chemistry from Princeton, a BS in physics from the University of California, is a patent agent and a registered professional chemical engineer. His research has led to a number of publications in chemistry, chemical engineering and space related journals.

     He also has engaged in extensive self study in biochemistry and medicine due to assorted health problems coalescing into a devastating "mystery syndrome" his doctors were not able to cure - or even diagnose - for quite some time. After being able to work with his doctor to get better he decided to expand his professional activities to include writing about health topics.



What the author has to say

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: Overview of treatment


Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say

About the author


What the publisher has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







 I wrote this book because I became seriously ill while most doctors told me there was nothing wrong. After an "environmental medicine" doctor suggested I had amalgam illness I had to read lots of medical literature to figure out what was going on and what to do about it. I got better after having my fillings replaced and taking appropriate chelating agents. I also know a lot of other people to whom this happened.

     I was very lucky when I got sick. Not lucky to get sick! That was a terrible experience! But I was lucky to have received exactly the right education before I needed it - close enough to medicine to be able to read physician's textbooks, but not close enough to share all the myths and be sure of the things "everyone knows." I was lucky to have had some business experience so I viewed physicians as professional service providers and knew how to get the services I needed from them. I had the right political experience to realize I could get lots of valuable information by just talking to enough people, but that certain things had to be learned by reading books.

     I didn't only learn how to get better. I also learned how much people suffer from this terrible condition. I learned how poorly understood mercury poisoning is. I wrote this book so that other people don't have to do all their own detective work when they get sick. So that people could start with the best information I could find. So that future victims of mercury poisoning won't have to suffer unnecessarily because nobody really knows what to do. I wrote this book to help you get well.

     Sometimes it takes the doctors a while to figure out what is causing a disease. Until recently it was believed that ulcers were entirely psychosomatic. Ulcer sufferers underwent prolonged treatment, were seldom cured, and often ended up under the surgeon's knife. It is now known that most ulcers are due to helicobacter pylorii infection, and ulcers easily cured.

     Lyme disease is a fascinating story. A housewife fell ill. Her symptoms were considered psychosomatic. When her husband and children came down with similar problems, this was regarded as some kind of projection of her psychosomatic complaint. She was eventually able to convince a physician that the only crazy thing was assuming that something psychosomatic could be contagious! Once the doctor gave the whole family medicine they all got better.

     Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome is still routinely considered a psychiatric disorder despite the repeated publication of physical and laboratory abnormalities always found in victims of it. People who realize it's not "Yuppie flu" find treatments that help them get better. A lot of these are covered in this book since CFIDS is often caused by unrecognized mercury poisoning and I had a terrible time with it myself.

     In less recent times, another form of mercury poisoning - acrodynia, or pink disease in babies - was endemic for 150 years until physicians recognized mercury as the causal agent. The disease was eliminated and all the babies got better by changing the formulation of infant care products that used to include mercury.

     This book is the kind of book you'd expect a chemist to write - one that is mechanistic, interrelated, and views the body as a complex chemical factory to be measured and controlled by adding a bit of the right reagent over here, taking something out over there, and sprinkling on "magic pixie dust" where needed. This isn't the only way to understand things. It is just the way I knew how to explain them.

     Progress in medicine is sometimes slow due to people's natural tendency to hold on to the old theories they learned in school. Medical school professors can be a bit dogmatic about the need to adhere to the theories they lecture on so authoritatively. It takes a while for what ordinary doctors see day after day in their clinics to get applied creatively to making people better, and even longer for this information to make it back into medical school lectures. I hope I have given you the best of both worlds in this book - a description of what actually happens to real people when they encounter mercury, instead of the theoretical response the average man is expected to have from what happens to little mice and rats in medical school experiments. I wanted to help you get well NOW. The professors can change their lectures later.

     I've written this book according to a modern paradigm of medicine. This new paradigm consists of viewing the human body as a system where biochemistry leads to metabolism which in turn becomes physiology. The new paradigm is to see illness as a slow progression from health to death rather than the sudden onset of a "disease" once a certain number of symptoms occur. The new paradigm lets you use the best of both mainstream and alternative medicine to get well.



What the publisher has to say

Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: Overview of treatment


Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say

About the author


What the author has to say


Amalgam related web sites

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book

  Toxicity testing via hair







 Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment presents a wealth of information on mercury poisoning such as you might have gotten from dental amalgam fillings, laboratory accidents, occupational exposure to mercury, exposure to mercury preservatives in health care products such as eye care products and contraceptives, etc. The book discusses how to tell if you have mercury poisoning, what to do about it, how to get help, and how to deal with physicians. Much of this information is covered several times at different levels so that you can find the amount of detail that best suits you. The book is straightforward and factual. Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment is a tool for solving intractable health problems.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment need not be read cover to cover or in any particular order. Figures and tables have been included to rapidly convey how the different symptoms are interrelated and how different medicines and nutritional supplements can be used.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment is intentionally very broad. A large number of supplements and medicines are discussed. Thus there will be SOMETHING that each individual person's metabolism tolerates, and SOMETHING that each physician is familiar and comfortable with. This book gives you the options you need - you decide what to use.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment discusses methods to diagnose and treat some of the physiological and metabolic dysfunctions which are a part of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and environmental illness. Some of the information will be helpful even if mercury isn't the root of your problems.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment is written as a straightforward reference book for you, not as super sophisticated research treatise for medical school professors. Everyday terms have been used when possible. Thus "low thyroid" instead of "hypothyroid," "poisoned" instead of "intoxicated," etc. Where medical words need to be used, they are explained.

     Instead of a very long list of esoteric and obscure references, there is a short list of helpful and interesting books and papers that explains what they are so you can decide if they would help you.

This book covers:

  how to find and work with good doctors;

  the effects of chronic mercury poisoning, and how mercury causes these effects;

  how to diagnose chronic mercury poisoning;

  how to treat chronic mercury poisoning;

  scientific evidence that a lot of people are mercury poisoned.

     Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment is especially valuable because some physicians are not yet familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of chronic mercury poisoning. Their textbooks state that there is no suitable biological index for the amount of mercury in the target organ, the brain, but do not explain what tests to use in place of the old fashioned ones that miss 2 cases out of 3. Worse, the textbooks offer no guidance on how to cure chronic mercury poisoning or control symptoms during treatment. This book gives your physician the information they need to help you.

     Since the medical textbooks aren't up to date on chronic mercury poisoning yet, the burden is on you, the patient, to decide whether to accept a physician's diagnosis and proposed treatment plan, or to seek another. If you are getting diagnoses like "there is nothing wrong," or "it's all in your head" and proposed treatment plans like "try ignoring it and seeing if it goes away," this is the right book for you. Don't suffer silently. Read Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment and get well.

Useful mercury related web sites

Discussion of mercury poisoning
More discussion of mercury poisoning
Medical consequences of mercury poisoning
Listserver for people chelating themselves
Listserver for people chelating autistic, ADHD children


or back to links in this page


Top


What is in the book


Back cover copy

Problems mercury can cause


Diseases mercury can cause


Table of contents

Excerpt: Medicine and controversy


Excerpt: Mainsream vs. alternative


Excerpt: What mercury does to you

Excerpt: Overview of treatment


Excerpt: What to expect (prognosis)


What people have to say

About the author


What the author has to say


What the publisher has to say

Of interest to health care professionals


Autism and Vaccine books of interest


How to order the book


 ____________________________________________________________________________


See more info on web.

Best Regards.
Thank you.



Virtual Association of Revolution Rights _ VARR