What are the symptoms for mercury poisoning in children? Are they any different from adults?

Let me give you a little information about my daughter . . . . . .
We adopted her from China when she was 16-months old. She was in an orphanage prior to us adopting her. At that time, she was very malnuourished. She weighed only 16 pounds, couldn't crawl, couldn't walk, & could only say a couple words. Needless to say, we had our hands full to get her up-to-date.

Now at 9 1/2-years-old she is very healthy. She is still tiny - weighs about 45 pounds & is about 47-inches tall. But she is never sick.

On the other hand, she has some symptoms that I can't figure out what is going on. She had physicals, blood works, etc & nothing shows up. At this point, she down right refuses any more blood tests - she is very fearful of needles & such.

Her symptoms include:

Always hungry - never feels full
Anixiety (always rushes to get things done)
Bloated Tummy
Cries for no reason at all
Doesn't listen
Forgetfulness
Low Blood Sugar
Sensitive
Smaller than peers
Tires easily

She has no fillings in her mouth whatsoever. Her symptoms started prior to vaccinations.

Could this be mercury poisoning? If so how & where did she get it?

Thanks!

Let me add one more thing-

Last night for dinner both my husband & daughter had tuna fish sandwiches. I know - I know - there is lots of mercury in tuna. My husband won't eat a good diet so I stopped nagging him about it. On the other hand, I wanted to experiment with my daughter to see if I noticed any symptoms afterwards.

Yes - she's had symptoms almost right away upon finishing her dinner last night. EXTREMELY MOODY!!!!!

Sometimes I can't even put up with myself because of the way that I feel (I am still working at getting the rest of my amalgam fillings removed/replaced). But between the 2 of us today . . . I felt like pulling my hair out.

She wouldn't listen to me at all today. She was in a bad mood all day long. She didn't want to do her chores. She didn't like anything that I said to her.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be better for all of us.

Thanks!

Lynn,

Excellent work observing her after tuna. I often tell skeptics (and there are a lot of them)?if they doubt that their symptoms are mercury-related?to eat tuna for 3 days in a row and see how they feel.

I had this experience once near the time of my amalgam removal.

In short, I accidently ate tuna 3 days in a row without realizing it. On the third day, I was in the Carrabba's restaurant with my business partner and an employee having dinner and I was so depressed that I almost started crying (I DO NOT cry easily).

I apoligized to both of my company and told them how I felt. I told them that in my mind I "know" there is nothing wrong but I cannot help the way I feel. It was so intense that I nearly walked out of the restaurant just to get away from people.

I also had these emotional symptoms:

- Feeling claustrophobic; Just wanted to walk out of the restauran to be outside

- Feeling easily upset or angered. Every little thing bothered my; like people being too loud at the next table or someone talking to me when I wanted to just think to myself.

- Feeling stubborn. For example, I would rather do something my way than listening and considering what someone else had to say.

The really ironic thing is that I am normally none of the above.

I didn't realize until near the end of dinner while I was trying hard to figure out why these symptoms were so severe that I had tuna the three days prior.

It's really hard for people to understand the feelings you go through and the emotional effects of mercury until you've experienced them.

I recently found a journal I kept from about 1980 to 1982 (the year I graduated high-school) and started reading. I was absolutely astounded to find that about 5 out of 6 days I wrote about how depressed I was. Of course, I remember my entire life, up until my removal in July of 2000, being depressed but it was so liberating to it in writing because childhood often seems like a bad dream.

About your daughter...

Is it possible that she received vaccinations before she came to you? Is it possible that she is exposed to:

- Lead or mercury in paint (you could test your home)
- Mercury in fungicides (home lawn or school)
- Mercury in fluorescent or neon lights

Do you live anywhere near a coal-burning power plant or other industry?

You could also see about exposure to NutraSweet through chewing gum, diet sodas or "sweet" snacks.

You could also see about excessive fluoride exposure. Does she drink tap water or get fluoride treatments or use a fluoridated toothpaste?

Russ,

Our home is only 10-years-old so there wouldn't be any lead in the paint. But the part of mercury in lights could be a possibility not knowing what type of lights there could have been in the orphanage (she was there for over a year). Thinking a little more about it - I know that she was in a crib all the time. Perhaps there was lead paint on it!?!

When we adopted her, she was covered with Eczema. It was all over her face, the creases of her arms + legs, near her ears, & along her throat. She still has break-outs now but it is not nearly as bad.

At the time, her diet included rice noodles, eggs, & Christmas tea (which looked like a very dark green tea). That was it.

A little about diet -

At home, we do not eat any sweets, packaged foods, white flour products, or junk food. We mainly have whole grains, veggies, fruit, & chicken. Even though I pack my daughter's lunch for school it is very difficult when she goes out or at a friend's house. I know that she "craves" sweets. I just keep on telling her that those foods are not good.

Is there anything else I should do for her? Should I put her on something?

Thanks!

The above message was from me. I forgot to log in.

Dear Lynn,

I like working with kids. They can fix fairly quickly. Here are some suggestions based on the info you gave in your two emails. Sugar cravings and anxiety sometimes are telling us that she's not digesting her food well so she never knows she's full (which you also mentioned). Low blood sugar, can be the same thing. I would start with a good kids' multi-vitamin, like Nature's Sunshine chewable. Then some pro-biotics like Probiotic Eleven, and then make sure she's getting some protein at every meal. Growing kids need protein, not only for growth and weight, but also to keep the brain full of the proper neuro transmitters to keep the mood good and happy. And you really want to address this before the hormones start in a girl !!! There are plenty of choices of organic meats these days, but I stick to chicken and turkey (not beef just because i'm an A blood type). That's something you might want to look at, feeding her according to her blood type. O blood types actually need beef (well really it's the amino acid proline that they need), or they will crave carbs. There is a great tasting and pure protein powder from Jay Robb, you can get either Egg White protein powder or Whey Protein Powder in vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. And there's only stevia added for sweetner, not sugar. and only natural flavoring. These taste much better than the kind that add vitamins and minerals. Of course organic eggs are wonderful because the yolks contain omega 3 oils that are very good for the brain (thus the mood) and very good for the eyes, and sense of feeling full !! Fats help one feel satisfied that they actually got something to eat. Flax seed oil mixed with butter, makes it better butter. And almond butter is a great alternative to american peanut butter.
Also look into some emotional remedies from the Bach Flowers, start with Rescue Remedy. After all you have no idea what trauma she might have suffered before you got her. I buy my Bach Flowers (for emotional issues and attitude adjustments) from www.traditionalflowers.com
I hope this is all helpful to you,
Joanne

Hmmm...

Sounds like you're on the right track with her diet. It does seem, however, that the particular combination of symptoms she has are related to mercury. It would be too much of a coincidence to this particular combination.

Is there any way to check about vaccinations she had before you got her? One vaccination can do a lot of damage, particularly in children with B-12 or glutathione deficiencies.

You may be able to find lists of sources of mercury exposure on the web. There is also one in the back of this book but it's pretty long:

It's All In Your Head by Hal Huggins .

I'm going to rent a mercury vapor meter soon and measure mercury from fluorescent lights and other possible sources we never think of. There must be something going on somewhere. We just have to keep searching.

Should I put my daughter on something for the mercury? Like Algin? I also noticed yesterday that her stomach is awfully bloated. I don't think its from what she is eating because she is on a very good diet.

It did take her 3-days to get rid of the symptoms from the tuna. I am still recuperating from the trauma also. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


Thanks!

We've had wonderful results with people using Algin. If I were you, I'd definitely try algin and see how she does. It would be my first supplement to try.

There are things you could try for the other symptoms, but it's best to try them methodically so you can see what works for her and what doesn't.

Feel free to ask if you would like more information about what can be done regarding any specific symptom(s).

Always hungry and bloated tummy sounds like candidia overgrowth to me. You might want to try Kyolic garlic three times a day for about 3 weeks (that's how long it took for me anyway). It comes in a liquid also.