hair test or no hair test

[mom61508]

My pedi routinely gives all her patients hair test If the parent wants one. She said IF the test shows some toxicity there's not much we can do about it but some parents just like to know.
So what do you think mammas? If the test shows something bad is there really nothing that can be done? Because I don't see the point of getting it done If I can help DD and it keeps me up all night worrying ya know.
Would love to hear your thoughts

[kjbrown92]

It shows more than toxicity, doesn't it? Doesn't it show you where you are in some minerals as well?

[tanyalynn]

Just because _she_ doesn't know what to do about it doesn't mean that nothing can be done.

Plus, if it's a Hair Elements test from Doctor's Data (I wouldn't do anything else) and if mercury toxicity isn't an issue, then the regular minerals (mag, cal, zinc, iodine, etc) should show meaningful results. There are some tricks to interpreting some of the minerals, esp mag, zinc, and iron, but that's meaningful in and of itself.

ETA: and based on the attitude you described, I doubt she knows how to interpret a Doctor's Data test for mercury, most people with mercury issues have low hair mercury.

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...435848&page=30
2nd post down on that page, which is why that specific company and that specific test is useful

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

Just because _she_ doesn't know what to do about it doesn't mean that nothing can be done.

Plus, if it's a Hair Elements test from Doctor's Data (I wouldn't do anything else) and if mercury toxicity isn't an issue, then the regular minerals (mag, cal, zinc, iodine, etc) should show meaningful results. There are some tricks to interpreting some of the minerals, esp mag, zinc, and iron, but that's meaningful in and of itself.

ETA: and based on the attitude you described, I doubt she knows how to interpret a Doctor's Data test for mercury, most people with mercury issues have low hair mercury.

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...435848&page=30
2nd post down on that page, which is why that specific company and that specific test is useful

I'm not sure which test it is. I'll have to ask her. the hair test would be checking her minerals as well?????
Is the test really worth it and accurate in your opinion??? Perhaps I should just order it myself.

[Panserbjorne]

ITA with TanyaLopez. Plenty of people reverse toxicity. She may not have the knowledge to do so, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by mom61508

I'm not sure which test it is. I'll have to ask her. the hair test would be checking her minerals as well?????
Is the test really worth it and accurate in your opinion??? Perhaps I should just order it myself.

I ordered one for my daughter, just like I described in that post. I used her as a proxy for all of us to see if any unexpected toxic metals were involved. Nope. DD failed 2 of Cutler's mercury counting rules, not surprising since I knew that's what we were dealing with. I was happy not to see lead, since that simplified things for us.

The cool thing about the plain Hair Elements test (not Toxic Exposure Profile) from DDI is that it tests lots of regular minerals. Things like iron aren't helpful, but a lot of the regular minerals are helpful, IF the person doesn't meet Cutler's mercury counting rules. If they do, it's trickier to know which of the minerals are accurate and which aren't, but either way, it's useful info IMO.

ETA: I mentioned mercury a couple times because as far as I know, it's the biggest source of toxicity that doesn't show up at all clearly on a hair test. Occasionally things like lead can be low even if there's a lot of lead present, but MOSTLY mercury is low if a person has lots of mercury. That held true for me, my DD, and my parents, and Cutler's counting rules were what showed what was actually going on. Other stuff like toxic levels of copper or lead or arsenic or all the other junk out there are mostly shown clearly with a hair test.