Lead Poisoning Due to Asian Ethnic Treatment for Impotence

Dolan, G.; Jones, Andy; Blumsohn, Aubrey; Reilly, John T.; Brown, Milton

doi:10.1177/014107689108401028

Cited by 25 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…Lead intoxication from the use of ethnic herbal remedies has been described from several countries 5 , 6 . Poisoning due to arsenic and mercury has also been recognised 7 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous Exposure to Lead, Arsenic and Mercury From Indian Ethnic Remedies

Sheerin

Monk

Aslam

et al. 1994

Int J Clinical Practice

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“…Lead intoxication from the use of ethnic herbal remedies has been described from several countries 5 , 6 . Poisoning due to arsenic and mercury has also been recognised 7 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous Exposure to Lead, Arsenic and Mercury From Indian Ethnic Remedies

Sheerin

Monk

Aslam

et al. 1994

Int J Clinical Practice

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Lead and arsenic intoxications by traditional and alternative medicine: men are more sensitive than women

Gerke,

Seifert

2024

Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol

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Traditional and alternative medicines are widely used around the world and include for example herbal medicine, Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, and indigenous therapies. Due to the long history and the mostly natural origin of traditional remedies, it is often assumed that they are harmless, but in recent decades more and more case reports have been published in which traditional medicine has caused metal poisoning. This paper provides an analysis of published cases in which patients have suffered metal poisoning due to traditional or alternative medicines. A systematic literature search was performed on PubMed, whereby 210 patient cases from a total of 102 case reports and 30 case series were identified and then analyzed about various aspects. Most of the traditional medicines involved come from Asia and are mainly contaminated with lead and arsenic. The analyzed patient cases show a high degree of heterogeneity with regard to age, sex, intake reason, symptoms, and severity of intoxication. The metal intoxication itself and the cause of the poisoning often remained unrecognized for a long time, which resulted in many patients undergoing unnecessary diagnostic methods and ineffective therapeutic approaches before the correct diagnosis was made. The evaluation of the available patient cases revealed a higher sensitivity to metal poisoning in children compared to adults and a higher sensitivity in men compared to women. Anemia and basophilic stippling were frequently observed and became more common as the metal content in the blood increased. Hopefully, this paper raises awareness of the potential dangers of traditional and alternative medicines, both from the patient’s and the doctor’s perspective, so that in case of intoxication, treatment can be initiated quickly using the correct diagnostic methods. As ingested metals do not only circulate in the blood but also accumulate in soft tissues and bones, long-term monitoring is necessary to ensure that patients make a full recovery. Doctors should be aware that, in contrast to common belief, men are more sensitive to this type of intoxication than women, necessitating particular attention for diagnosis and treatment.

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Heavy metals in traditional Indian remedies

Ernst

2001

Eur J Clin Pharmacol

190

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The growing popularity of traditional Indian remedies necessitates a critical evaluation of risks associated with their use. This systematic review aims at summarising all available data relating to the heavy metal content in such remedies. Computerised literature searches were carried out to identify all articles with original data on this subject. Fifteen case reports and six case series were found. Their collective results suggest that heavy metals, particularly lead, have been a regular constituent of traditional Indian remedies. This has repeatedly caused serious harm to patients taking such remedies. The incidence of heavy metal contamination is not known, but one study shows that 64% of samples collected in India contained significant amounts of lead (64% mercury, 41% arsenic and 9% cadmium). These findings should alert us to the possibility of heavy metal content in traditional Indian remedies and motivate us to consider means of protecting consumers from such risks.

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Lead Poisoning Due to Asian Ethnic Treatment for Impotence

Cited by 25 publications

References 2 publications

Simultaneous Exposure to Lead, Arsenic and Mercury From Indian Ethnic Remedies

Simultaneous Exposure to Lead, Arsenic and Mercury From Indian Ethnic Remedies

Lead and arsenic intoxications by traditional and alternative medicine: men are more sensitive than women

Heavy metals in traditional Indian remedies

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