Chris.Brown@f113.n163.z1.fidonet.org (Chris Brown) (01/11/91)
Index Number: 12816
l have no idea what nerologists think of the mercury
controversy...probay their reaction is the saame as most people in
medicine that I talk to, which is that when there is a controversy in the
media they realize that probably there is some truth to the information
on both sides, and something each side could learn from each other. The
association, the Allergy and Environmental Health Association is
primarily a self-help group, and as such it tends to avoid getting caught
up in medical politics. We (speaking as an executive member, now) have
found that doctors can be extremely unprofessional in stating opinions on
controversial subjects, in that main points are often tenable (such as we
do not have enough information to ban all mercury filling use) while side
issues caught up in the debate can be handled very clumsily at great
expense to those with concerns related to the main point being debated.
I cant say mercury should never be used, thats up to everyone to decide.
I would emphasise that mercury poisoning and/or sensitivity is not being
stated as being the "cause" of MS. But our organization knows, and has
stated quite often, that many chronic disabling health problems have
improved when a person has been identified as chemically sensitive, and
when chemicals THAT PERSON is sensitive to have been avoided. There are,
as others have pointed out, persons diagnosed with MS who have NOT had a
relief of symptoms when they have avoided problematic substances, even if
they have sensitivites to those substances which produce other symptoms.
The positin of the ADA and CDA is that mercury should not be removed
unless an allergist says the person is allergic to mercury.
Unfortunately, there are manykinds of sensitivity other than allergy,
there are not good tests to determine these other forms of sensitivity,
and the only way of finding out if mercury is causing a problem is to
remove it and see if things get better. our organization does not have a
formal position, but I believe, if asked, it would state that, in cases
of chronic health problems where physicians are unsure about the cause in
any specific patient, sensitivities should be checked for. In the case
of there not being a good test for checking for the sensitivity, we
recommend removal/reintroduction. In the case of mercury, the only way
to determine if the mercry is the proeblem is to remove it. Therefore,
we would probably, if asked, isagree vehemently with the statement of the
Candian Diental Association that it is "unprofessional" to recommend
removing mercury fillings on the basis of a POSSIBLE mercury sensitivity,
as POSSIBLY indicated by an unexplained or poorly understood health
problem.
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