Message from Dr Susan Jamieson
Whether the media reports about lead poisoning are true or not, in integrative medicine we believe that heavy metal poisoning is an issue for everyone. Blood tests take 4 to 5 days, and also hair analysis is thought by the environmental protection agency in the US to be another accurate method of assessing heavy metal toxicity. Please feel free to make an appointment any time for yourself or your child for this purpose.
Lead Poisoning Symptoms
Symptoms of lead poisoning include abdominal pain and cramping (usually the first sign of a high, toxic dose of lead), aggressive behavior, anemia, abdominal pain, constipation, difficulty sleeping, tingling fingers, headaches, irritability, and loss of previous developmental skills (in young children).
Exposure to Lead
Aside from water, there are other means of exposure. For anyone who has lived in houses built before 1940 it’s likely that lead was used in the paint. It chips off near the windows and children playing here ingest it. As an integrative doctor, I have also seen mercury toxicity from dental fillings as well as cadmium and arsenic poisoning from roadside pollution and Chinese agricultural methods. I have been studying simple ways to treat all of these conditions for the past 20 years so I know there is something that can be done about them.
It was thought that lead poisoning caused the demise of the Roman Empire – not only did they have lead water pipes, but they had a habit of heating wine and other things in lead cooking utensils. It’s only in 1971 that a law was passed prohibiting the addition of lead to paint – some think that lead poisoning from paint was responsible for causing the artist Van Gogh to go mad.
Please make an appointment in the office to see the doctor for blood or hair testing. This will not only screen for lead but also other environmental toxins such as mercury, cadmium , aluminium, arsenic…