Dietary metals are vital in our eating routine. It helps in developing health, and deficiency can prompt specific diseases. Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, and Zinc are some valuable metals our body requires for everyday work.
At lower amounts, the side effects of certain metals are negligible, but excessive exposure might cause serious issues. Human gets significantly exposed to certain metals which are not suitable for our normal cell functioning by
- Agricultural activities like inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, wastewater, and fly ash.
- Naturally, by volcanic eruptions, sea sprays.
- Industrial exposure like thermal power plants, refineries, and chemical industries
- Unhealthy eating habits and over dosage of certain drugs that cause organ toxicity to the brain, liver, kidney, blood, and skin.
- Miscellaneous issues like landfills, medical waste, incineration, etc.
Thus routine check-ups can help recognize any indications of metal toxicity as it can imply opportunities for viable treatment. You can likewise check truenaturehealthconsulting.com, a website that assists with nutritional plans, lab testing, doctor’s expertise, and many more. They are available with numerous medical care plans, which you can choose according to persuasion.
What Is Metal Poisoning?
The accumulation of metal in unreasonable amounts, which causes disease or disorders in the human body, or The poisonous impact of specific metals that play no function in our body and, when present in some parts, causes toxicity, is called metal poisoning. Many side effects of metal poisoning rely upon the kind of metal causing harmfulness and the span of exposure to the same. For example, arsenic and lead can cause side effects, including Migraine, Sleepiness, Muscle torment, Joint torment, Obstruction in stool, and many more. There are a lot of metals that cause poisoning to humans and animals, some of them are stated below.
1. Phosphorus
Exposure for less than eight hours to white phosphorus can cause burning sensations to the skin and eyes, and severe accumulation in the body can cause diarrhea, vomits, and hypertension.
2. Lead
Lead is one of the toxic metals found in paints and near construction sites, and its exposure can cause damage to some vital organs of our body, like the kidney, brain, and heart. Moreover, it can cross the placenta, which can harm and cause abnormalities in unborn children.
3. Arsenic
Arsenic is utilized in many pesticides and industries, and the uptake of contaminated food and water might cause cerebral pains, sleepiness, and seizures. It also affects our nervous system and skin by causing Reynolds’ lines on fingernails and accumulation of liquid in the delicate layers of tissue beneath the skin, called edema.
4. Mercury
The primary source of mercury poisoning is fish like tuna and swordfish. It is also used in dental treatments and affects the respiratory tract due to inhalation of mercury fumes while working in factories, causing shortness of breath (dyspnea) ,snugness in the chest ,the development of liquid in the lungs and fibrosis that is abnormal growth of fibrous tissues.
5. Zinc
Zinc is an essential dietary metal that helps building an individual’s immune system, growth, and maturation. But its overdose can cause intestinal issues and upset the GM.
6. Cadmium
Inhalation of cigarette smoke, welding on alloy containing cadmium, working at ore processing, or smelting can cause cadmium toxicity in the body.
7. Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are ultrafine particles that can enter our respiratory tract quickly by inhaling and cause irritating GM. They are used in various fields like agriculture, construction, cosmetology, etc.
8.Manganese
Manganese is mainly used in steel industries as a refining specialist. Side effects related to overexposure to manganese might harm the focal sensory system and cause pneumonia.
9.Beryllium
It is mainly used in aviation industries. Thus, occupational exposure can cause problems like lung sensitization and skin diseases.
Symptoms Of Metal Poisoning
The beginning of side effects might start after two to four hours of continuous exposure. Some of them are listed below
- Systematic symptoms include fever, chilling sensations, and pain
- Muscular weakness
- Decrease function of the liver, causing fatty liver disease
- Yellowing of skin
- Intestinal infections
- No urine production
- Gastric issues like vomits, abdomen pain, and burning sensation
- Anemia and hypertension
- Yellowing of eyes
- Metallic mouth taste
How to detect Metal Poisoning?
1. Blood test
An individual with metal exposure will have metal content in the blood for around ninety days. The metal blood test is a series of tests that help track potentially harmful metals in your blood.
2.Kidney Tests
The kidney gets severely damaged by metal poisoning. The degree of renal harm by metals relies upon the nature, portion, course, and length of openness. Thus kidney tests are performed to acknowledge the health.
3. Imaging Test
These tests are done for the digestive tract; some are computed tomography, CT angiography, Virtual colonoscopy, etc.
4. Electrocardiography
Electrocardiography is used to check your heart rate by electrical signals. It helps detect conditions like hypertension, one of the common symptoms of metal poisoning.
5. Liver Test
A liver test looks at levels of specific compounds and different proteins in your blood. Some proteins are only found in blood samples when your liver is harmed or has an illness.
Treatments For Metal Poisoning
- Drugs like dimercaprol, calcium EDTA and penicillamine are recommended by doctors to the patient suffering from metal toxicity as it helps detoxify the body from metal by urine.
- Occupational exposure can be inhibited by wearing a mask, gloves, and eyeglasses.
- Diuretic treatment by giving Mannitol when brain damage occurs.
- Hemodialysis is done in case of kidney damage in the patient.
Conclusion
With the upgradation in modern wellbeing, intense metal exposure is widespread. Metal like copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, and chromium have been found in the soil in hefty amounts. As” prevention is better than cure,” it is imperative to spread awareness among people to protect the environment. Several techniques can be used to eliminate these problems from roots by opting for Bioremediation, a method used to remove ions from the atmosphere using microbes. Likewise, industries can also practice thermal treatments, chlorination, and membrane separation techniques to remove harmful metals from waste before releasing them into the environment.