Mercury Poisoning: The Undiagnosed Epidemic

304 Pages·2014·5.78 MB·English

by  David Hammond

Mercury Poisoning
The Undiagnosed epidemic
The science and case histories showing the role of mercury in
diseases such as Alzheimer’s, autism, ADHD, allergies and chronic
fatigue and how to eliminate mercury from your body.
David Hammond
Copyright © 2013 David Hammond
Kindle Edition
Disclaimer
I am not a medical doctor. The opinions expressed in this book reflect my
personal experience of heavy metals and chelation. The information herein is
provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for medical
advice. Because human beings differ, what is beneficial for one person may not
benefit someone else. You should consult your health practitioner regarding
medical diagnosis or treatment. Reliance on any information provided by the
author is solely at your own risk.
For My Mother,
Betty Hammond
Table of Contents
Title Page
Disclaimer
Dedication
Preface
Chapter 1: A case history which demonstrates the delayed effects of mercury
Chapter 2: Previous epidemics of mercury poisoning
Chapter 3: History of Mercury in Medicine
Chapter 4: Non-medical sources of mercury
Chapter 5: Our increasing background exposure to mercury
Chapter 6: Three forms of mercury
Chapter 7: How can mercury be responsible for so many different symptoms?
Chapter 8: Why is mercury still used in amalgam fillings?
Chapter 9: The toxicity of mercury amalgam
Chapter 10: Effects of amalgams on health
Chapter 11: Mercury increases the toxicity of other heavy metals
Chapter 12: Symptoms of mercury poisoning
Chapter 13: Hair testing for heavy metals
Chapter 14: Changing medical paradigms
Chapter 15: Mercury’s role in various diseases
Chapter 16: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Chapter 17: Socialization
Chapter 18: Mercury and autism
Chapter 19: An autism case history
Chapter 20: Mercury and Alzheimer’s disease
Chapter 21: Lead and Alzheimer’s Disease
Chapter 22: Multiple Sclerosis
Chapter 23: Motor Neuron Disease
Chapter 24: Parkinson’s disease
Chapter 25: Heavy metals and mental disorders
Chapter 26: Schizophrenia
Chapter 27: Bipolar Disorder
Chapter 28: The Great Pretender: rheumatic fever? colitis? lupus? or
psychiatric disorder? The complexity of mercury symptoms.
Chapter 29: Chronic Fatigue
Chapter 30: Fibromyalgia
Chapter 31: Heart disease
Chapter 32: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Chapter 33: Mercury and the immune system
Chapter 34: Allergies
Chapter 35: Chelators
Chapter 36: Amalgam removal
Chapter 37: Chelation
Chapter 38: What to expect when you chelate
Chapter 39: Saunas
Chapter 40: The Adrenal Glands
Chapter 41: Treatment of Adrenal Fatigue
Chapter 42: The Thyroid Gland
Chapter 43: How to Treat Hypothyroidism
Chapter 44: Vitamins and Supplements
Chapter 45: Diet and Chelation
Postscript
Acknowledgements
Appendix – suppliers:
Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2010)
Index
Preface
In the late 1970s, I was a laborer in a steel factory in the desert town of Whyalla,
South Australia. I stood not far from a 100-ton ladle as molten steel was poured
into ingots of about ten tons. A thick woolen jacket and a plastic face-shield
protected me from the heat and any splashes of metal.
The ingots would crack with the heat, and it was my job to seal these cracks with
clay to prevent the molten steel from escaping. One day, in the middle of my
shift, I suddenly felt very tired, and sat down behind a girder. In the center of the
chaos of the pouring floor, I went to sleep. When I woke up half an hour later,
the foreman was livid, as I had held up production. But then he saw how ill I
looked and sent me home.
The next morning, I woke with a dozen painful ulcers in my throat and mouth,
inflamed lymph glands in my armpits and groin, burning in the soles of my feet,
and a metallic taste in my mouth. I had diarrhea which resulted in 10 to 12 bowel
movements a day.
These symptoms were constant for the next six months, before becoming
intermittent. The onset of a bout was preceded by a metallic taste in my mouth:
then I would develop painful mouth ulcers and inflamed lymph glands. I would
feel listless and depressed for ten days to two weeks. I didn’t sleep well, and
woke frequently during the night. Often when I slept, I felt as if there was a
wrestling match going on in my head – as if something was moving around in
my brain. This cycle would repeat itself every four to six weeks.
I consulted many doctors and alternative practitioners over the next thirty years,
but no-one could give me a diagnosis, or provide a cure.
I also did my own research and considered the possibility of poisoning, and in
particular mercury poisoning, as my symptoms were consistent with acute
mercury poisoning. But I couldn’t figure out how I could have got mercury
poisoning from steel, which is basically iron ore and carbon.
About ten years after getting sick, I had all my amalgam fillings (what people
call silver fillings, but which are actually 50 percent mercury) replaced with the
more modern, white “composite resin” materials – but I didn’t notice any change
in my symptoms. I didn’t understand then that it wasn’t enough to remove the
source of the mercury, but that I also had to remove the mercury that was
sequestered in my brain, kidneys, thyroid and other organs.
As I got older, the frequency and severity of the ulcers slowly lessened, but I
began to experience chronic fatigue. By the afternoon, I just didn’t have the
energy to do anything. My insomnia worsened and later my sense of balance
began to deteriorate: I often felt unsteady when walking. I developed chronic
sinusitis and a permanent ache on one side of my face. I became more irritable
and less sociable, preferring to spend time on my own: talking was too much
effort.
My level of thirst increased, and I usually drank more than four liters of liquid a
day. I woke two to three times a night to urinate and to drink some water – six
times on a bad night. I was exhausted nearly all the time and felt life was not
worth living. Most of the people I interacted with at this time were not aware of
my inner state, or my physical state, as I managed to keep it together on the
outside while I was at work.
Eventually, while searching the Internet in 2010, I came across an article
discussing the use of scrap metal from old cars in the production of steel. When
steel is made, about 25 to 35 percent of the raw steel is provided by scrap metal,
which is mainly crushed automobiles. The US government had now decreed that
the mercury-containing switches used in cars had to be removed before the cars
were added to the molten steel mixture, in order to reduce the amount of
mercury released into the atmosphere.
Apparently, there can be quite high levels of mercury in the air around steel
mills, and particularly in the area where the steel is being poured.
Now I knew. I had most likely inhaled mercury vapor from the scrap metal in the
molten steel. This was the cause of my illness.
So I had to find a way to detoxify myself – to remove the mercury and recover
my health. I found an Internet forum comprised of people who suffered similar
symptoms to my own – though their mercury source was usually dental amalgam
– or in some cases vaccinations, most of which, until the early 2000s, contained
a mercury preservative.
For most of us, a major difficulty had been identifying the cause of our illnesses.
Not only were doctors unaware of the toxic effects of chronic exposure to low
doses of mercury, they also did not know that symptoms of mercury poisoning
may not manifest until years or even decades after poisoning began.
In the chapters that follow, I will show:
• Humans are exposed to levels of heavy metals far in excess of our
preindustrial ancestors.
• Mercury from amalgams is gradually deposited throughout the body and in
particular in the brain.
• Over time, very low levels of mercury can result in severe health problems.
• We are not exposed to mercury in isolation; other metals are also
ubiquitous in our environment and they can increase the toxic effect of
mercury synergistically. Health officials seem to be unaware of this
phenomenon.
• Case histories from medical journals which show mercury poisoning can
result in a number of diseases.
• How to remove mercury from the body and restore good health.