Lead Poisoning !

There must be an amazing number of people in the world who have survived and recovered from a gunshot wound.  Unfortunately, many suffer from a debilitating aftermath that goes completely undiagnosed.  Many are surprised to learn that they are suffering from lead poisoning.

When that soft, lead bullet strikes bone it usually shatters and tiny fragments penetrate deeply into surrounding flesh and muscle.  Trauma surgeons probe to remove as much of the bullet as possible but going after the bullet residue involves cutting deeply into healthy tissue and they elect to leave those fragments in the body.

Long after the wounds have healed gunshot victims often complain of symptoms such as fatigue, headache, abdominal pain and nausea and these are usually incorrectly attributed to a range of other illnesses.  The true cause is only revealed when the victim takes a blood test to determine his or her lead level.

An average, healthy person will probably have had a blood lead level of two micrograms per decilitre of blood, but that is now falling since lead has been removed from paint and from the petrol we use to fuel our cars.  The American CDC recommends that anyone with a lead level above five micrograms should urgently start a programme called "chelation ".  That is usually successful in reducing the blood lead level back to that two percent stability.

Unfortunately, having been shot is not the only way to get lead poisoning.  Animals that met their death at the hands of hunters usually contain bullet residue and that is particularly evident in birds brought down by shotgun pellets.  Tiny lead particles pass through the victims digestion system when such game is eaten and some of this lead remains in the body.

This came to the attention of the authorities in California when it was noticed that the giant Condor bird numbers were declining.   These birds are carrion and it was found they were eating body parts left by hunters and their decline was caused by lead poisoning.   California has since passed laws that remove lead from sporting ammunition, but this is being resisted by the National Rifle Association. Lead has long been the preferred bullet base by ammunition manufacturers because it is both cheap and plentiful - and easy to mould into shape.

Ammunition can be created from a range of other metals but that would increase the cost factor and be unpopular with hunting enthusiasts.  Game shooting has not developed in Australia to the extent practised in some other countries but this link between lead ammunition and lead poisoning remains a hidden danger.  People suffering the symptoms which are common to a range of ailments might be wise to have a blood test to check their lead level