Arsenic causes which disease

Still, knowing whether you have high levels of arsenic in the body can help you make changes to your lifestyle, if needed. The best way to treat the condition is to eliminate arsenic exposure. Full recovery may not happen for weeks or months. The severity of your symptoms can also play a role. Vitamin E and selenium supplements have been used as alternative remedies to limit the effects of arsenic exposure.

Still, more human studies are needed to support vitamin E and selenium as viable treatment methods. Long-term exposure to arsenic can cause cancer. The most common types of arsenic-related cancers are associated with the:.

Arsenic poisoning may lead to other health complications. Diabetes, heart disease, and neurotoxicity are possible after prolonged exposure. In pregnant women, arsenic poisoning can lead to fetal complications or birth defects after delivery. Developmental effects can occur in children who are regularly exposed to arsenic. Short-term arsenic poisoning can cause unpleasant symptoms, but the outlook remains good overall. The most serious problems tend to occur from exposure to arsenic over long periods of time.

This can happen at a daily job, or by eating or breathing contaminants on a regular basis. The earlier you catch arsenic exposure, the better the outlook. You can also reduce your cancer risk when you catch it early. Ground water continues to be the most common source of arsenic poisoning. One of the most effective preventive measures against arsenic poisoning is to make sure you drink clean, filtered water.

However, arsenic exposure has caused other forms of blood vessel disease in the limbs in several other countries. The relationship between arsenic exposure and other health effects is less clear. The evidence is strongest for high blood pressure, heart attacks and other circulatory disease.

The evidence is weaker for diabetes and reproductive effects; it is weakest for strokes, long-term neurological effects , and cancer at sites other than lung, bladder, kidney and skin.

This summary is free and ad-free, as is all of our content. You can help us remain free and independant as well as to develop new ways to communicate science by becoming a Patron! Pigment changes have been observed in populations chronically consuming drinking water containing ppb or more arsenic [ATSDR ].

Arsenical hyperkeratosis occurs most frequently on the palms and soles. Keratoses usually appear as small corn-like elevations, 0. In most cases, arsenical keratoses show little cellular atypia and may remain morphologically benign for decades [ATSDR ]. Basal cell carcinomas have also been reported [Cohen and Moore ]. Confounding factors for arsenic-induced skin cancer may include exposure to sunlight, chronic liver disease, and nutritional status [Hsueh et al.

Respiratory Effects. Smelter workers experiencing prolonged exposures to high concentrations of airborne arsenic at levels rarely found today had inflammatory and erosive lesions of the respiratory mucosa, including nasal septum perforation.

Lung cancer has been associated with chronic arsenic exposure in smelter workers and pesticide workers [ATSDR ]. Hematopoietic and Hematologic Effects. Both acute and chronic arsenic poisoning may affect the hematopoietic system. A reversible bone marrow depression with pancytopenia may occur. Anemia and leukopenia are common in chronic arsenic toxicity and are often accompanied by thrombocytopenia and mild eosinophilia.

The anemia may be normocytic or macrocytic, and basophilic stippling may be noted on peripheral blood smears [Kyle and Pearse ; Selzer ]. Acute intoxication with arsine gas can cause fulminant intravascular hemolysis. Reproductive Effects. Arsenic is a reproductive toxicant and a teratogen [Shalat ]. It is readily transferred across the placenta, and concentrations in cord blood are similar to those in maternal blood.

A published case report described acute arsenic ingestion during the third trimester of pregnancy, leading to delivery of a live infant that died within 12 hours. Autopsy revealed intra alveolar hemorrhage and high levels of arsenic in the brain, liver, and kidneys [ATSDR ]. A study of women working at or living near a copper smelter where ambient arsenic levels were elevated reported increased frequencies of spontaneous abortions and congenital malformations [Nordstrom et al.

The frequency of all malformations was twice the expected rate and the frequency of multiple malformations was increased fivefold [Nordstrom et. However, a number of other chemicals, including lead, cadmium, and sulfur dioxide, were also present, and thus it is difficult to assess the role of arsenic in the etiology of these effects. Carcinogenic Effects. The carcinogenicity of arsenic in humans has been established. Table 5. Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen [IARC ].

Chronic inhalation of arsenicals has been associated with lung cancer and angiosarcoma a rare form of liver cancer has been reported [Falk et al. According to IARC and NRC, the association between chronic arsenic exposure and cancer is strongest for skin, lung, and bladder cancer. Skin Cancer. An increased risk of skin cancer in humans is associated with chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic in contaminated water and the workplace.

Arsenic-induced skin cancer is frequently characterized by lesions over the entire body, mostly in unexposed areas such as the palms, soles, and trunk. More than one type of skin cancer may occur in a patient. Most of the Taiwanese who developed skin cancer in association with ingested arsenic-contaminated drinking water had multiple cancer types [ATSDR ].

Some hyperkeratinized lesions can develop into intraepidermal carcinoma, which may ultimately become invasive. The lesions are sharply demarcated, round or irregular plaques that tend to enlarge; they may vary in size from 1 millimeter to more than 10 centimeters [ATSDR ]. Arsenical basal cell carcinomas most often arise from normal tissue, are almost always multiple, and frequently occur on the trunk.

Arsenic-associated squamous cell carcinomas are distinguished from ultraviolet-induced squamous cell carcinomas by their tendency to occur on the extremities especially palms and soles and trunk, rather than on sun-exposed areas such as the head and neck.

However, it may be difficult to distinguish other arsenic-induced skin lesions from those induced by other causes. Epidemiologic studies indicate that a dose response relationship exists between the level of arsenic in drinking water and the prevalence of skin cancers in the exposed population [ATSDR ].

Excessive mortality rates due to arsenic-induced skin cancer have also been observed in vineyard workers with dermal and inhalation exposure [ATSDR ]. Lung Cancer. In arsenic-exposed workers, there is a systematic gradient in lung cancer mortality rates, depending upon duration and intensity of exposure [ATSDR ]. A higher risk of lung cancer was found among workers exposed predominantly to arsenic trioxide in smelters and to pentavalent arsenical pesticides in other settings. Neither concomitant exposure to sulfur dioxide nor to cigarette smoke was determined to be an essential co-factor in these studies.

As the arsenic poisoning progresses, the patient may start experiencing convulsions, and their fingernail pigmentation may change. Arsenic poisoning typically affects the skin, liver, lungs, and kidneys. In the final stage, symptoms include seizures and shock. This could lead to a coma or death. Arsenic, consumed in large amounts, can kill a person rapidly.

Consumed in smaller amounts over a long period, it can cause serious illness or a prolonged death. The main cause of arsenic poisoning worldwide is the drinking of groundwater that contains high levels of the toxin. The water becomes contaminated underground by rocks that release the arsenic. Daniel E. Transient contact with arsenic-containing rocks will not lead to effect absorption or clinical concerns for arsenic poisoning.

The World Health Organization WHO estimate that more than million people worldwide are exposed to water that contains potentially unsafe levels of arsenic. If proper safety measures are not taken, workers in certain industries may face a higher risk of toxicity.

The method through which arsenic enters the human body in these industries depends on the way the arsenic is being used.

For example, arsenic may be inhaled in the smelting industry, as there is inorganic arsenic in coke emissions. In the wood treatment industry, it may be absorbed through the skin if a chemical containing arsenic makes contact. There may be traces of arsenic in some foods, such as meat, poultry, and fish. Normally, poultry contains the highest level of arsenic, due to antibiotics in the chicken feed.

Rice has also been found to potentially contain higher levels of arsenic than water. In areas and occupations with a risk of arsenic poisoning, it is important to monitor the levels of arsenic in the people at risk. This can be assessed through blood, hair, urine, and fingernail samples. Urine tests should be carried out within 1 to 2 days of the initial exposure for an accurate measure of when the poisoning occurred.