Is chelation a safe treatment for toxic stuff in the blood? ?

Question

Do they even do that anymore, in most well educated areas? I don't know if it's current or not. Do the people who go for that have to do it more than one time? Does the hair fall out like with chemotherapy. Also, is it safe to do at same time as chemo for blood cancer. Just curious.

Don't say ask a doctor. I'm just throwing this out for no reason other than to quell my curiosity. Thanks!

Answer 1

Basically the only time they use chelation is if you've been acutely poisoned with heavy metals - you've received a large dose and it's recognizably causing dangerous symptoms. Because it's very dangerous. Acute heavy metal poisoning is essentially the only time it is ever used by a legitimate doctor.

A lot of alterno-health quacks like to advocate it to remove vaguely defined 'toxins' from your body. It doesn't do this. It doesn't help at all, and many, many people have died from improper use of this treatment at the hands of those who promote it as a panacea for a vague 'toxic evil' environment we live in. Very frequently these people have a poor understanding of chemistry.

And no, definitely not safe to use during chemo. Chelation depletes many important ions and electrolytes in the blood, and chemotherapy is VERY rough on the body as it is. And with blood cancer, there's not an existing 'poison' in your body causing it. Most blood cancers originate in some form in the bone marrow, and is a result of malignant cells growing there - not some sort of ongoing poisoning.

Answer 2

Chelation therapy is indeed still the treatment of choice for several heavy-metal poisonings. Unfortunately, it's also a favorite quack treatment for a host of garbage "toxins" for which it doesn't work.

Answer 3

Chelation therapy by amateurs can be very dangerous.  It should only be used by medical specialists in proven cases of heavy metal poisoning.  Unfortunately chelating agents will chelate other metal ions like calcium and iron that your body actually needs as well as chelating lead etc.  That is why it needs to be managed properly with proper blood testing.

This is one area that naturopaths etc. are way out of their depth to  diagnose/manage/recommend or have anything to do with.