Diagonosis?!?!

With all the talk of mercury, what it can do to us if we are affected by it, the question remains of the getting the proper diagnosis.  Mercury poisoning is difficult for physicians to diagnose, the reason being that the symptoms are like that of many other diseases that a doctor will most likely look to first.  This issue raises a question that we should all hold close:  how do we know we are poisoned if our doctors have trouble figuring that out?  It might seem like a tough question to answer, but the solution is a simple one:  pay attention to what you are around and eating, and tell your doctor that info!  This can save your life as a doctor cannot make the proper diagnosis with the appropriate information.  Mercury has many different symptoms depending on how it enters your body, if it is inhaled through fumes the poisoning will have the symptoms of the flu at first.  Thankfully and unfortunately the most common way that someone gets mercury poisoning is through organic mercury through fish.  This as we have discussed before, is a nervous system issue.  Once again though, an uninformed doctor will be looking at other diseases before turning to mercury, and that is only after doing a blood test to test for toxins in the body.

So what are the most basic of steps that you should take?  The first and foremost step is the obvious, be knowledgeable of what fish you are eating and the mercury content of that fish.  There are many websites out there that give this info, a great one being from the FDA which can be located here.  The other most important task that you can do for yourself is to keep track of what you are eating when you start developing these symptoms and to communicate your life habits with your physician.  As I stated above, an uninformed physician will not be able to catch mercury poisoning as one that has at least a few clues to your eating and daily habits.  Lastly, keep a look at the other people around you that share the same lifestyle, if they are showing similar symptoms as yourself, it can help point to the problem.  As always, paying attention is the key to detecting problems before they become a lifelong issue that you have to deal with.