Even our national symbol the Bald Eagle is suffering with lead poisoning. Chelation administered by a few heroes saved this bird's life.
We do testing and treatment for heavy metal poisoning. Eagles and other large birds are casualties of lead poisoning because of their food sources. They scavenge on bullet-riddled carrion. Some make it to rehab centers and some die in the back country.
What are the classic symptoms of lead poisoning in eagles?
Rounded shoulders, drooped wings, trouble lifting the head, bright green, bile stained diarrhea and extreme fatigue. In humans, I see fibromyalgia, joint pain, fatigue, inability to think, clumsy movements, vision changes, constipation and diarrhea, lack of affect and depression.
Lead shot has been banned in the US for waterfowl hunting since 1991, but lead is legal for other kinds of hunting. Lead core bullets explode on impact sending hundreds of small fragments throughout the body. Lethal concentrations of lead were found in 21% of 168 dead eagles last year. Lead fragments that are eaten pass through the digestive system, but toxic levels of the metals circulate for days in the bloodstream before they diffuse into soft tissues like the liver, kidney and brain. Same pathway for humans. The lead remains in soft tissues for weeks or months before it settles into bone tissue.
Lead causes brain damage and injuries the nervous system in animals and humans. Lead, a neurotoxicant, can cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms, suppress breathing and paralyze limbs.
Eagles like humans need I.V. chelation to flush out the elevated metals. The best combination is I.V. ozone and chelation together.
I have become a good sleuth with the assistance of my patients to identify where the exposure is coming from. I have a new patient diagnosed with non-Estrogen receptor positive breast cancer who has high cadmium levels in her blood. Cadmium is definite flint to start a cancer fire in the breast. We have narrowed it down to "organic cigarettes". She doesn't have any tattoos, doesn't play with artist supplies, take apart computers or sit for hours in an idling car.
