THE TOXICITY OF FLUORIDE IS
OFTEN UNDERESTIMATED:

“I realized that something was wrong,
as I couldn´t wake him“

 Original ⇒ HERE

Print Version – of hand written letter above.

My husband and I have agreed on writing this letter in the hope that it may prevent someone going through the experience we suffered in May 1973.

In July 1970 we were told by our doctor that we were going to have a baby.
In my first visit to the Hospital for a check-up in October, I was told by the Matron to start taking fluoride tablets for the benefit of the baby.
I did so until the 20th of February 1971 when our first child, Jason, was born.  When he was one year old the welfare clinic told me to start giving him 1/2 of a fluoride tablet per day. I did so for 15 months. When he was 27 months old he got hold of the fluoride tablets, and at the time I didn´t know how many he had eaten, but I knew it wasn´t many. I took him to the doctor straight away and he gave our son a stomach pump treatment. The doctor told me he could only find four tablets in his stomach. I was told to take him home and he would sleep for a while, but he would be okay when he woke up. This was at 2:00 P.M. At 5:30 P.M. I realized that something was wrong, as I couldn´t wake him. I rang the doctor and was advised to take him back to the surgery. The doctor saw him straight away and told me to take him to the maternity hospital. As we arrived he was still unconscious and he stopped breathing. The doctor put him in a respirator immediately.  The doctor and the nurses didn´t believe that he could be so ill from taking fluoride tablets until they did some test on him. They told us it would take 200 to 500 tablets to make him so sick. There were less than 100 tablets in the bottle before he touched it. On May 15th, five days after admission, Jason passed away. The doctor verified that his brain, due to fluoride poisoning, was completely dead. We have now two children. They have never or will never receive fluoride tablets from us. We are completely against fluoridation of drinking water and we hope that this letter will help stop such a thing from happening.

Mr. & Mrs. A. Burton,
Birkdale, Brisbane Queensland,
Australia 4159

.

FROM: Dukes M.N.G.: “Side Effects of Drugs, Annual 4”, Excerpta Medica, Oxford 1980, p. 354 <file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Leigh\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\IM\IM\Runtime\Message\Dukes.jpg>  Fluoride (SEDA-3, 399)

At least three fatalities have occurred due to the fact that the toxicity of fluoride is often underestimated. One case report may be cited. A boy aged 27 months swallowed an unknown quantity of fluoride tablets containing 0.5 mg each. As the bottle contained less than 100 tablets, the unconscious child was sent home after a gastric lavage yielding 4 (!) tablets only, with the assurance to the parents that no risk existed. Three and a half hours later respiratory failure began to develop and the child was hospitalized; he died five days later. Even at the hospital the parents were told that 200 to 500 tablets would be required to endanger the child.  5 – 10 g of fluoride are commonly considered to comprise the acute lethal dose; the child in question had received less than 50 mg, which suggests an enormous difference between the supposed and actual lethal dose, even allowing for the age of the victim.
It is true that the mother had received fluoride during pregnancy and that the child had received 0.5 mg daily for 15 months before the incident occurred but one must wonder whether the chronic load could have been sufficient to lower the acute lethal dose so drastically.
This over dosage risk must be added to known risks attributable to fluoride in normal doses (i.e. gastrointestinal bleeding and atopic dermatitis) (33 c)   

FROM: John Yiamouyiannis: “Fluoride The Ageing Factor”, Health Action Press, 1983, p. 85 <file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Leigh\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\IM\IM\Runtime\Message\Yiamouyiannis-1983.jpg> (The statement was originally published in the “Melbourne Truth”, Australia, Nov. 3, 1979)  

A spokesman for the Queensland Justice Department confirmed that Jason´s death was caused by fluoride poisoning.
He said the death certificate was authentic.
It records the cause of death as fluoride poisoning. “Mrs. Burton (Jason´s  mother) recalled the day her nightmare began: ´I was getting some carpet laid while Jason was having his afternoon sleep. After about five minutes – definitely not more than seven – I got the feeling something was the matter. Jason was sitting on the floor with a bottle of fluoride tablets. I rang the doctor and said Jason had taken some of the tablets, not many … about half a dozen.´ Mrs. Burton said the doctor told her to take Jason down to him and had then given the child a stomach pump. ´I asked the doctor if he had found any fluoride tablets and he replied that he had found four.´ …”

DENIAL:.

Letter from Dental Surgeon Sydenham Dobbin, B.D.S., F.I.C.D.,
Yass Australia.

To Prof. Schuebel, of Duesseldorf, Germany  in response to a request from Prof. Schuebel relative to the claim by Yiamouyiannis, cited above and mentioned by me in a TV discussion:  22nd November, 1985  .

See copy of original letter below⇒ HERE.

Dear Professor Schubel, The document you sent me for verification is false. I have spoken with the Department of Justice in Queensland, and they stated that they never made such a statement.  The Poisons Advisory Department in the Royal Children´s Hospital in Sydney, keeps a record of all people poisoned in Australia.  The Director told me when I read her the statement, that no child (or adult), had died of fluoride poisoning in Australia.  Furthermore, she said that a number of children had swallowed up to 200 fluoride tablets, and it had not affected their health at all. I also contacted the Cancer Council of New South Wales. This Council keeps a record of all deaths from cancer in New South Wales, both from a statistical basis, and a geographical basis. The director said that despite the fact that 85% of the population of New South Wales was drinking fluoridated water, there was no increase in the incidence of cancer. Some towns have had fluoridation of the water supply for 30 years (Yass).  I am enclosing some literature which you will find interesting. It will enable you to refute the false hysterical claims of the anti-fluoridationists.
Yours faithfully (signed)
S. DOBBIN, B.D.S., F.I.C.D.  

Extract from:

The Medical Journal of Australia

13 October 1984

Acute Fluoride Poisoning After Ingestion of Sodium Fluoride Tablets
Paul A. Monsour, Brian I. Kruger, Andrew F.Petrie and John L. McNee

ABSTRACT: Between 1978 and 1983, at least 20 children with fluoride poisoning were admitted to two major children’s hospitals in Brisbane. [Queensland]. Data on telephone calls received by Poisons Information Centres in Australia about fluoride toxicity show that Brisbane, the water supply of which is not fluoridated, [then] received approximately twice as many calls per head of population as were received in Sydney and Melbourne. Concern is also expressed at the standard of packaging of fluoride tablets currently marketed in Australia *. A treatment plan for cases of acute fluoride poisoning after oral ingestion is presented.     (Med) Aust 1984; 141: 503-505)

———-♦———-

* These fluoride tablets were originaly sold in a plastic container that did not have a “Child-resistant closure” – not even a screw top – just a press fit. The tablets were mixed bright colours, they looked like sweets, and between the lid and the tablets were small balloons!

We now drink this stuff with, no balloons and no warnings in our Brisbane water!

HOWEVER:

Post-Mortem Examination (Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death).

 (Form E) STATE OF QUEENSLAND  “The Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages Acts, 1962 to 1967”  (Section 31)
POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION  (Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death)
To the Registrar for the District of  BRISBANE  I HEREBY CERTIFY that on 16th May,  1973, by order of  W. R. PULLAR   Esq., Coroner, I made a Post Mortem Examination of the body of a male aged 2 years, named JASON BURTON who is stated to have died at  Mater Childrens Hospital and, in my opinion, the date of death was 15th May, 1973, and the cause of death was Disease or condition directly leading to death :… Fluoride poisoning  Dated… 16.5. 1973  .. N. G. Johnston (Government Medical Officer)

Post-Mortem Examination Report <file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Leigh\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\IM\IM\Runtime\Message\PM-Report.jpg> CORONERS ACT 1958-1972  Section 18  POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION REPORT    

  Name:_______BURTON, Jason________  Address:_____16 Hardwick Street______  ___________Wynnum West__________ P.M. Authorised by  W. R. Pullar, Coroner   No. _____23538_____________________  D.O.B.: 20.2.71___Age: 2____Sex: M____ Time and Date of Death: 4.50 P.M. 15.5.73  Time and Date of P.M.: 10.00 A.M.16.5.73 Place of P.M.: Institute of Forensic Pathology    

Police Officers attending P.M.___________ Constable Kennedy, Woolloongabba__________.

1. EXAMINATION   STATURE_86 cm__WEIGHT_13.6 kg_BUILD__Medium__NUTRITION__Good

__________________RIGOR MORTIS___Present_____HYPOSTASIS___Present______

The scalp, skull and membranes appear normal. The brain shows extensive autolysis, consistent with death having occurred some time previously.
There is no other significant abnormality of the brain   Weight of Organs  (Grams)  1175 g

The larynx, pharynx and trachea appear normal. The pleural cavities are clear. Both lungs show moderate congestion and oedema.   L. 130 g R. 138 g   

The pericardial cavity is clear. The heart and the great vessels appear anatomically normal   74 g   

The liver is congested but otherwise normal. The gall bladder and biliary tracts are normal   826 g   

Spleen:   40 g   

Both kidneys appear normal. The adrenals and thymus gland appear normal for age.   L. 41 g R. 49 g   

COMMENT:  No pathological change which could have caused death could be found in any organ at the post mortem examination. However, the autolysis of the brain tissues was so marked that any evidence of a disease such as encephalitis would be impossible to find. In my opinion, therefore, the most probable cause of death was fluoride ingestion because of:- 1. The history of fluoride overdose. 2. The supporting evidence of a positive blood fluoride level. 3. The absence of any other disease process.

2. OPINION AND COMMENT as to Cause of Death ___Fluoride Poisoning__________ To____________________________________Signature

________(Signed)____________    

Hospital Report (“Discharge Summary”) <file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Leigh\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\IM\IM\Runtime\Message\Hospital-Report.jpg>  

MATER MISERICORDIAE PUBLIC HOSPITALS — SOUTH BRISBANE

DISCHARGE SUMMARY

21st June 1973

NAME……..BURTON…….Jason..Paul…………………….AGE…..2……..

ADDRESS….16 Hardwick St

…………………………………………………..

……………….Wynnum West………………………………………………………

ADMITTED……10.5.73……………………………………Died…15.5.73…..

REFERRING DOCTOR………..Hansen……………………………………………

FINAL DIAGNOSIS…………….Flouride Ingestion……………………………..

—————————————————————————

   SUMMARY OF HISTORY, CLINICAL FINDINGS,
INVESTIGATIONS, TREATMENT AND   PROGRESS

   This child was admitted to hospital via casualty in a moribund condition.

   The child was said to have swallowed an unknown quantity of flouride tablets (2 mg). but more than likely he would not have swallowed more than 50 tablets. This was said to have happened approximately 6 hours prior to admission. The child did have access to several other drugs. These drugs included Polarmine, Elexamine, Robinul and Dormel. However, it was unlikely that he may have swallowed any of these other tablets.

   On EXAMINATION: Blood pressure 50 systolic and there was only fair peripheral perfusion. The pupils were dilated, unequal and irregular.There was generalized muscular hypotonia. There were no focal neurological signs. The pulse was 100 per minute, regular R.T.A. and there was normal sinus rythym on E.C.G. Immediate treatment was instuited with the administration of I.V. SPPS. This bought his blood pressure back to 100/systolic. As the child had had an respiratory arrest five minutes after arrival in the casualty dept, he was taken to theatre and a naso-tracheal tube was inserted. The patient was then placed on the Bird´s respirator with intermittent positive pressure respiration. Very intensive observations were instuited. Because his presentation was consistent to a flouride intoxication he was treated accordingly. He was given doses of 10% calcium gluconate I.V. Blood was taken for analysis of the most common poisons, and a sample of blood was also sent to a state government analysist for estimation of serum flouride.Over the next few days this patient made no improvement whatsoever. E.E.G. was performed on 14.5.73. The trace was completely flat. It was thought the prognosis was absolutely hopeless. The respirator was turned off 15.5.73 and life was pronounced extinct.

The level of serum flouride, although it was elevated was not regarded as being in the toxic range.
However, the sample of blood had been taken approximately 10 hours after ingestion.

1. Fluoride level <100 µg/100 ml (Toxicity levels 200-300 µg)

This original Death Certificate is in our possession.

– MORE –