A Latin American folk medicine could contain a toxic dose for children. "Greta" is a Mexican remedy that contains almost 90% lead in its bright orange powder. That is well over the amount that could cause death in a child.
Across the United States
immigrants from Latin America, India and other parts of Asia are using home remedies that could very well kill. Those remedies are the second most common source of lead poisoning in the United States. Only the use of lead paint exceeds these remedies putting tens of thousands of children at risk annually for lead poisoning.
In the past eight years dozens of children and adults have become ill or have died after being dosed with the medicines that contain lead according to federal and local health officials.
The medicines are made outside of the United States and then sold by folk healers known as curanderas. The products can also be bought at ethnic grocery stores and shops selling herbs. The remedies bypass government regulators being brought in the country by suitcases.
"No one's testing these medications," said Dr. Stefanos Kales, an assistant professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health who researched the problem. "There's no guarantee it doesn't have dangerous levels of lead."
In some parts of the world lead is added to curative formulas. There has been no proven medical benefits and many proven problems from taking these folk cures.
In Harris Country, Texas one fifth of children suffering from lead poison have taken traditional medicines. The count is even higher in Arizona with folk cures to blame for one fourth of childhood lead poisoning cases.
Some of the names these remedies go by are greta, azarcon, rueda (mainly in Texas, California and Arizona) and litargirio (mainly in New York and Rhode Island). Drugs from India called ayurvedic medicines contain high lead levels. The South Asian medicine ghasard which is used for constipation in infants and mahayogaraj gugullu which is used to treat high blood pressure also contains lead.
The figures are high when it comes to these remedies and lead poisoning among the young. As many as 30 percent of all childhood lead poisoning cases come from traditional medicines. The EPA estimates that 240,000 children were diagnosed with high levels in 2004 and 2006. Many more cases could be out there with children never being detected.
"People think, well, my grandmother did it, so it's not a problem. It's extremely hard to change cultures and beliefs," said Brenda Reyes with the Houston Health Department.
The trouble is these medicines have been used for generations in immigrants native lands. Arurvedic can be traced back more than 2,000 years ago in India. It is still used by 80% of the population in India today.
Those who become sick because of home remedies often have more serious cases than those who are poisoned from other sources. The reason for this is because of medicines are deliberately swallowed.
Symptoms of lead poisoning are lethargy, confusion, learning problems and convulsions. In severe cases brain damage can occur. There have also been deaths that happen with excessive lead levels.
There are treatments used to help the body reduce the amount of lead. Oral medicines and chelation therapy allows for the lead to be removed by urination.
The only way though to help rid this problem though is through educating the public that these folk cures could poison children.
