Ethnic remedies

Dreskin SC. A prescription drug packaged in China and sold as an ethnic remedy. JAMA 2000 283(18) 2393. 

Arsenic-induced neurotoxicity in a child was caused by the use of an Indian ethnic remedy. 

Muzi G, DeU omo M, Madeo G, Abbritti G, Caroli S. Arsenic poisoning caused by Indian ethnic remedies. J Pediatr 2001 139(1) 169. 

Sheerin NS, Monk PN, Aslam M, Thurston H. Simultaneous exposure to lead, arsenic and mercury from Indian ethnic remedies. Br J Chn Pract 1994 48(6) 332-3. 

Clinical poisonings have been reported with herbal or ethnic remedies rich in mercury and lead and other heavy metals from the Far East, India, the Middle East, South Africa, Australia, Western Europe, and North America. Symptoms related to heavy metal intoxication are not always distinctive,... 

Various traditional ethnic remedies and cosmetics have been found to cause lead poisoning. 

J. Flattery et al, Lead Poisoning Associated with Use of Traditional Ethnic Remedies—California, 1991-1992, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 42 (1993) 521-524. 

At one time canned foods were a significant source of lead because of poor-quality solder joints in the cans. High-acid goods, such as tomatoes, would leach lead from the cans. Finally, contamination of drinking water with lead occurs primarily from lead solder joints or old fixtures and occasionally lead pipe was used to bring water to a home. As with many metals, lead was used in a number of remedies, some of which are still available and used by some ethnic groups. 

India. Infusion of the inflorescence is taken orally every morning for 3 days, coinciding with the menstrual cycle for leukorrhea and problems associated with the menstrual cycle " ". A dose of 50 g daily of a mixture of Cocos nucifera fruit and Ficus benghalensis latex is taken for 3 months to increase sexual potency in men " ". Fruit is taken orally as a remedy for tapeworms " ". Indonesia. Coconut oil is applied externally to treat wounds and injuries by the ethnic group of Ngada ". Shell is used as incense " . Hot water extract of the root is taken orally for fever, bloody diarrhea, and... 

You should check to see if any medicines or herbal remedies that you or your child use contain mercury. Some traditional Chinese and Indian remedies for stomach disorders (for example, herbal balls) contain mercury, and if you give these remedies to your children, you may harm them. If you are pregnant or nursing a baby and you use mercury-containing ethnic or herbal remedies, you could pass some of the mercury to your unborn child or nursing infant. 

Mercuric sulfide, or cinnabar, was reported to be used in tattooing dyes to produce a red pigmentation (Bagley et al. 1987 Biro and Klein 1967). An analysis of finger paints and make-up paints manufactured in Europe showed that they all contained less than 1 ppm mercury (Rastogi 1992). The author did not discuss whether these products are available in the United States. While some of medicinal and pharmaceutical uses of mercury compounds have been replaced in recent years, individuals in some ethnic or religious groups may still use mercury in various traditional remedies, ceremonies, and rituals. 

Certain ethnic groups are exposed to lead in their traditional remedies. Communities in the vicinity of lead smelters and other lead-emitting industries are exposed to greater amounts of lead from such industrial sources. Some water districts may have water that is more corrosive, and prone to contamination with lead, than others. Also, some water systems still have lead water mains, which may contaminate drinking water. 

---