Heavy Metal Toxicity Symptoms

listpage-5
A doctor reviewing heavy metal toxicity symptoms on a chart

Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements found within the earth. They enter the soil from eroding rocks, volcanic eruptions, and human-led initiatives such as mining, agriculture, and industry. However, these elements have a dark side: they can cause heavy metal poisoning, also known as heavy metal toxicity.

Have you ever seen warnings about lead-based paints? Deteriorating lead-based paints cause one of the most common forms of heavy metal poisoning. Even though lead-based paints haven’t been sold since 1978, they contained high levels of heavy metals. Fragments from lead-based paints can enter the air, eventually finding their way into your lungs.

And heavy metal toxicity symptoms are nothing to mess around with, bringing about brain complications, irritability, nausea, and more. These are both short-term and long-term effects.

But what do the effects of heavy metal poisoning have to do with kratom? We are, after all, a kratom site. And unfortunately, heavy metals often find their way into manufactured goods, including kratom products. At Kratom Spot, our goods are always third-party lab tested to ensure that they do not contain harmful contaminants like heavy metals.

However, it’s still essential to understand heavy metal toxicity symptoms. This way, you’ll know the risks of using untested kratom products. You will also understand the short-term and long-term effects of heavy metal poisoning, noticing symptoms before they get worse.

Heavy Metal Poisoning from Manufacturing Byproducts

Many manufacturing processes utilize heavy metals. However, these toxic metals should NEVER remain in the manufactured goods when sold. In fact, it is routine to remove heavy metals and other contaminants before the sale in order to reduce the risk of heavy metal toxicity symptoms.

It’s important to note that there does exist a safe ingestion level for most heavy metals. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to remove 100% of heavy metals from manufactured products. You can often find trace amounts of heavy metals in drinking water, agricultural products, and other products.

But the effects of heavy metal poisoning come about from prolonged exposure to these elements. The most common elements found in manufactured goods include:

  • Lead (common in the environment, entering our food supply)
  • Mercury (high levels of heavy metals in fish, for example)
  • Arsenic (abundant in the air, water, soil, and virtually all crops)
  • Cadmium (found in just about everything you eat)

These heavy metals tend to degrade our environment as well. So not only does ingesting large amounts of these elements cause heavy metal toxicity, but toxicity to the natural world as well.

The Short and Long-Term Effects of Heavy Metal Poisoning

There are many, many types of heavy metal poisoning. Common short-term heavy metal toxicity symptoms include:

  • Confusion
  • Numbness
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Fainting
  • Abdominal pain
  • Diarrhea
  • Dehydration
  • Irritability

On the other end of the spectrum, what are the long-term effects of heavy metal poisoning?

  • Anemia
  • Kidney damage
  • Liver damage
  • Lung irritation
  • Fluid in the lungs
  • Memory loss
  • Behavioral changes
  • Weak bones
  • Miscarriages

And while the short and long-term effects of heavy metal poisoning might seem intimidating, heavy metal toxicity is treatable. Look for these immediate heavy metal toxicity symptoms and seek medical attention if needed:

  • Headache
  • General soreness
  • Tiredness
  • Joint and muscle pain
  • Constipation

Heavy Metal Toxicity Treatment: What Should You Do?

The first thing you should do if you suspect you’re suffering from heavy metal toxicity is seek professional medical help. Your doctor might even be able to help you determine what’s causing heavy metal poisoning in your life. Whether it be untested kratom products or contaminated fish, you want to eliminate the source of heavy metal toxicity in your life.

If you believe untested kratom products are the source of your symptoms, consider switching to Kratom Spot products! As we mentioned above, 100% of our kratom goods are third-party lab tested to ensure safety, efficacy, and consistency across batches. We source our kratom from pesticide-free farms in Southeast Asia using Fair Trade practices. In addition, we manufacture all of our kratom in an ISO clean room, making sure that our finished products do not contain contaminants like heavy metals.

Luckily, heavy metal poisoning is considered a relatively rare disease. However, it’s important to protect yourself. Nobody wants to suffer heavy metal toxicity symptoms. Plus, if you plan on having kids, heavy metal poisoning is known to cause developmental problems. It’s better to be aware and prepared!

What Heavy Metals are Commonly Found in Kratom Products?

Some of the most commonly reported heavy metals in kratom products are nickel and lead. We’ve touched a little bit on lead-based paints and other sources of lead contamination. But how does this heavy metal enter the kratom supply?

Lead and Kratom: What You Need to Know

Lead enters the environment from a variety of different sources:

  • Mining operations
  • Factories that make or use lead
  • Burning coal, oil, or industrial waste

On top of that, rain removes lead from the air. These lead particles then dry and fall to the ground, potentially contaminating water sources and soil. As a result, lead has become a near-permanent part of our industrial ecosystem.

If that didn’t sound bad enough, there’s more. Like most forms of metal poisoning, lead offers some unique heavy metal toxicity symptoms. This includes:

  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Major fatigue
  • Hearing loss
  • Seizures
  • Obsession with eating non-food items like paint chips (believe it or not)
  • High blood pressure
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Mood disorders
  • Reduced sperm count

It’s evidently important to avoid ingesting lead when taking kratom products. While most kratom goods do not contain enough lead to cause harm right away, the long-term effects of heavy metal toxicity will catch up to anyone who isn’t careful. Always purchase third-party lab tested kratom, no matter what!

Nickel and Kratom: Where’s the Risk?

Nickel, another heavy metal, occurs naturally at low levels. It’s considered an essential element and might prove vital for human nutrition in small amounts. This element also makes up a portion of the earth’s crust. So what’s the issue?

Nickel is commonly found in areas with large amounts of human pollution. Your body is capable of eliminating small amounts of nickel in the body, but the heavy metal becomes toxic in larger doses. Like its other heavy metal counterparts, it can cause a variety of short and long-term symptoms. In fact, long-term exposure to nickel can cause severe diseases, including:

  • Contact dermatitis
  • Lung cancer
  • Inflammatory diseases
  • Insomnia

At Kratom Spot, we take extra precautions to ensure that your products do not interfere with your long-term health. Reducing exposure to heavy metals like lead and nickel is just one of the ways we make a difference in your kratom regimen.

Avoiding Heavy Metal Toxicity Symptoms, One Dose at a Time 

Nobody wants to experience the effects of heavy metal poisoning. However, we are doing our part to ensure your kratom only contains safe levels of heavy metals. We recommend that all kratom users make sure their kratom is third-party lab tested. Without federal regulation from the FDA and DEA, untrustworthy kratom products will continue to induce unnecessary – perhaps deadly – side effects.

With regulation comes heavy metal-free manufacturing. Until then, do your due diligence, making sure your kratom products are NOT exposing you to the long-term effects of heavy metal toxicity. And look to reputible third-party organizations like the American Kratom Association help distinguish reputible vendors who adhere to a higher standard.