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Gordon Chiu
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Zinc Poisoning aka Zinc Toxicosis (in Pets)

After the previous entry on watermelons containing large amounts of heavy metals from wastewater usage for farming, I received an interesting email about a pet being poisoned by zinc. The source was a 1986 U.S. penny.

Readers should note that pennies minted after 1983 have 90+% zinc by weight. Pets can range from dogs, cats and even birds -as many cages have high levels of zinc. As an aside, human babies can also suffer from zinc toxicosis.

Proper and rapid treatment is crucial -or- it can lead to diarrhea, lethargy -tiredness, icterus -jaundice/yellowing pigment of the skin, shock, intravascular hemolysis, hemoglobinuria, cardiac arrhythmias -regular heart rhythm is disrupted, seizures and ultimately death.

A good source/guide for information as a general reference would be the Merck Veterinary Manual. Whether a blood transfusion (to dilute out the toxin) or a chelating agent is elected ... careful monitoring that zinc levels are decreasing with any treatment protocol is a necessary and suggested procedure. Pages enclosed:

about 14 years ago 0 likes  2 comments  0 shares
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(1) Like realestate, know your location (ie know your source and how the item is processed). Watermelons, fruits/veggies, bottomfeeders (ie don't want to eat shrimps, bottom feeders after the BP spill - Gulf of Mexico? -better make sure you know your source). You bet someone is distributing that seafood into restaurants and grocery stores. (2) Know about the basics of food poisoning and when milk/water is useful and not, when emesis (vomiting) helps/hurts. Swallowing pennies post 1983 and their zinc content vs. copper is another interesting story on delinking currency from their original material composition of gold, silver, copper -pennies included. You can get basic information about heavy metals -Pb (lead), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) from your poison control center. (3) People should know that life is quite fragile. It is the slow poisoning effects that really take on their toll in our health. (4) Lastly, dryer vent build up can leading to fires. Yes, that's right and exploding dryers due to overheating has historically been a major fire hazard. Make sure the vent is cleaned and take notice if it starts acting funny. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5022.html CBS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPmbO4XCAkU
about 14 years ago

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要盡心, 盡性, 盡意, 盡力愛主你的神 和愛人如己(Luke 10:27 NIV Bible) Dr. Gordon & Yourself: Solutions Together http://www.gordonyourself.com. GY BLOG via AnD/google is the

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