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zinc toxicity

Etiology: - chronic ingestion of pennies - excessive zinc supplementation - metal fume fever Pathology: - excessive zinc ingestion can suppress copper & iron absorption - zinc intakes of as little as 150-450 mg/day may induce copper deficiency Clinical manifestations: - nausea/vomiting - epigastric pain - diarrhea - headache - fatigue, lethary - ataxia Laboratory: - serum Zn+2 - complete blood count - anemia - neutropenia - lipid panel: decreases in serum HDL cholesterol

Related

zinc deficiency zinc [Zn] Zn+2

Specific

metal fume fever

General

toxicity; poisoning; overdose mineral overload

References

  1. Wikipedia: zinc toxicity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_toxicity
  2. Fosmire J Zinc toxicity. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990 Feb;51(2):225-7. PMID: 2407097
  3. Zinc Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/