Many Medications Pack A Potentially Lethal Dose Of Fluoride

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Many Medications Pack A Potentially Lethal Dose Of Fluoride

 

 

> Deadly Cures? - Many Medications

> Pack A Potentially Lethal

> Dose Of Fluoride

> By Patricia Phillips

> Senior US Correspondent

> 7amnews.com © 2001

> From Andreas Schuld pfpc

> 8-18-1

>

> 7amNews has learned that many medications are packing a potentially lethal

> hidden dose of fluoride, a chemical that some claim is slow poison. Over

the

> past several years, numerous fluoride-containing medications have been

> pulled off the market for causing deaths and illness.

>

> Fluoride is " highly toxic to the liver, " expert Andreas Schuld of

Vancouver,

> BC Canada said.

>

> Schuld, head of Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children, explained that " In

> the liver all fluorides interfere with the metabolism of thyroid hormones,

> creating thyroid disorders and associated diseases, such as muscle

diseases

> .heart disease, etc. " Other effects can include a serious muscle disease

> that causes pain and weakness.

>

> He cited the recent withdrawal of Baycol, a cholesterol-lowering drug

taken

> by 700,000 Americans, as an example of hidden fluoride-induced dangers

that

> could be lurking in your medications. Baycol, Schuld said, has been linked

> to 31 U.S. deaths, with at least nine other fatalities worldwide.

>

> Schuld told 7amNews that Bayer AG, the company that makes Baycol, would

not

> release international statistics about potential harm from the drug.

> However, the European Medicines Evaluation Agency immediately began a

safety

> review of other drugs in the same class as Bayer 's " Baycol. " Bayer AG

> reportedly withdrew the drug in a " voluntary " recall late last week.

>

> 7amNews has attempted to contact Bayer AG for a statement, but has not

> received a response.

>

> What's all the uproar? Schuld provided a basic biological-chemical

lesson: "

> Fluoride is any combination of elements containing the fluoride ion. In

its

> elemental form, fluorine is a pale yellow, highly toxic and corrosive gas.

> In nature, fluorine is found combined with minerals as fluorides. With

> hydrogen it forms hydrogen fluoride gas which, in a water solution,

becomes

> hydrofluoric acid...Fluorine compounds or fluorides are listed by the US

> Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) as among the top

20

> of 275 substances that pose the most significant threat to human health. "

>

> Although most U.S. cities have routinely treated water supplies with

> fluoride for years, Schuld and others in his group believe that the

buildup

> of fluoride from various sources, including medications, will harm rather

> than cure. He cited a shocking fact: In 2000, 3M announced a phase-out of

> Scotchgard products after discovering that the product's primary

> ingredient-a fluorinated compound called perfluorooctanylsulfonate

(PFOS)--

> was found in all tested blood bank examinations . Even animals in the

wild,

> including eagles and bears, were found to have these chemical contaminants

> in their bloodstream.

>

> Further research by 7amNews found that these PFOS are fluorocarbons, and

are

> related to CFCs, now banned in order to protect the ozone layer. According

> to the Environmental Working Group, " Although research is still evolving,

> PFOS are known to damage the liver and to produce severe birth defects in

> lab animals, among other health effects. " The U.S. Environmental

Protection

> Agency says PFOS chemicals combine " persistence, bioaccumulation, and

> toxicity properties to an extraordinary degree. "

>

> The EWG maintains public access archives on issues related to chemicals

and

> public safety. Its records also state: " The more than 1,000 documents in

> EPA's Administrative Record on Scotchgard-some 29,000 pages of

> material--show clearly that 3M knew its products were in the blood of the

> general population as early as 1976 and had detected PFOS in their own

plant

> workers as early as 1979. "

>

> The tenacity of fluoride buildup has Schuld and others concerned. He told

> 7amNews that the inorganic form of fluoride " used in the fluoridation of

> public water supplies is a waste product from the fertilizer industry. "

> Americans especially are at risk absorbing the chemical via their skin

> because of the wide-spread use of chemical fluoridation of water.

>

> That danger, Schuld believes, is only multiplied by the adding of organic

> fluoride compounds to medications. His documents include a shopping list

of

> once-popular medicines now withdrawn due to safety concerns:

>

>

> * Cisapride ( " Propulsid " ) was withdrawn because it caused severe cardiac

> side effects (2000); * Mibedrafil ( " Posicor " ) was withdrawn after it was

> shown that patients with congestive heart failure showed a trend to higher

> mortality (1998); * Flosequinan was withdrawn in 1993 after it was shown

> that the beneficial effects on the symptoms of heart failure did not last

> beyond the first 3 months of therapy. After the first 3 months of therapy,

> patients on the drug had a higher rate of hospitalization than patients

> taking a placebo; * Astemizole (allergy drug) was withdrawn in 1999

because

> it also became associated with serious life threatening cardiac adverse

> events; * Fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine were withdrawn in 1997 due to

> serious cardiac adverse health effects; * Tolrestat (anti-diabetic) was

> withdrawn in 1997 after the appearance of severe liver toxicity and

deaths;

> * In 1992 Abbott withdrew the antibiotic Temafloxacin ( " Omniflox " ). The

drug

> had caused deaths, liver dysfunction, etc. * Grepafloxacin was removed

from

> the market in 1999 because of serious cardiac events.

>

>

> In addition, Schuld cites concerns about both Paxil and Prozac, popular

> anti-depression drugs. He claims that the fluoride-enhanced drugs not only

> have a risk of causing liver damage, but also interfere with thyroid

> hormones and potentially even with thyroid medications routinely taken by

> millions.

>

> Citing the well-publicized case Fen-Phen, a once-popular weight-reducing

> drug, Schuld said that " it is important to note that only the fluorinated

> compound ( " Fen " - fenfluramine) was withdrawn, while Phentermine ( " Phen " )

> was not pulled. "

>

> The worry and ensuing investigations about fluoride in medicines are

> worldwide. Among them are yet another class of drugs: antibiotics.

Schuld's

> documents cite international concerns about fluoroquinolone antibiotics,

> which are used in the treatment of a large variety of infections.

>

> In October 1994 the Japan Pharmaceutical Affairs Bureau amended the

product

> information for Enoxacin, Fleroxacin, Norfloxacin, Sparfloxacin and

> Tosufloxacin to state that rhabdomyolysis may occur. Information on

Adverse

> Reactions to Drugs No.128, October 1994.) Five years ago, the Sri Lanka

Drug

> Evaluation Sub-Committee decided to include a warning statement about

> fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

>

> Back in the U.S., Steinberg Law Firm of Houston, Texas is currently

> investigating injury claims related to Baycol. Its website states: " in

1999,

> the Food and Drug Administration ( " FDA " ) approved Baycol/ Lipobay

> (cerivastatin) for patients with primary hypercholesterolemia (elevated

> cholesterol) and mixed dyslipidemia (elevated cholesterol and high

> triglycerides). While Baycol has reportedly helped some, it has injured

> others. It is reported to sometimes cause muscle problems (Myopathy)

leading

> to kidney damage (rhabdomyolysis). Symptoms can include unexplained muscle

> pain, tenderness or weakness accompanied by malaise or fever.

Rhabdomyolysis

> is a rare condition where serious muscle damage results in release of

muscle

> cell contents into the bloodstream. "

>

> How can consumers protect themselves? 7amNews asked Schuld how a patient

> could tell if their prescription contains a fluoride-bearing compound.

>

> " It is next to impossible, " Schuld said bluntly. He added " One needs to

look

> at the product insert to see if the actual chemical compound is described.

> It is usually listed as " fluoro " -something, or as " F " in the chemical

> formula. The best way is to go to one of the sites on the Internet listing

> product monographs, such as www.rxlist.com and to look up the product in

> question. "

>

> However, he noted, the fluoride often is hidden in another chemical

> additive: gelatin made from cow-bones, or among phosphates.

>

> In essence, the consumer, taking medications because of illness, has

almost

> no way to check out whether or not their pills contain a chemical that

could

> potentially make them even sicker -- or kill them

>

>

> http://www.7amnews.com/2001/features/081801.shtml

>

>

>