lead levels

[44woody]

ok I have a question if you get shot in a place the doctors can not remove the bullet is that bullet going to raise your lead levels in your blood or is it just going to sit there ??? and how many vets right now are carrying around in them a bullet from a German, Japanese , Korean , Vietnamese or any other group of people we have fought any thought on this ???:castmine: 44Woody

[milsurpcollector1970]

I have heard of bullets being gradually pushed out of the body mostly ones that were close to the skin 22 cal for example.

I think that unless the bullet winds up in your stomach, there is nothing to erode the bullet and cause it to get into your blood.

I think that the body will build up tissue or calcification around the foreign body which would seal it off from the rest of the body.


Bullets from WW I on were mostly copper jacketed or steel with a copper foil on them. The lead is inside the bullet.

[44man]

I shot a lot of deer in PA years ago with my bow. I found lumps against the chest wall, calcified or gristle looking stuff. When I cut them open there would be a .22 bullet inside. I think I remember at least 5 like that. I also found broadheads and parts of arrow shaft the same way.

[leftiye]

Yep, yer body "encysts" boolits and other foreign objects that it can't expel. Almost the same way that it forms a cyst or protective layer around an abcess to keep the infection from spreading. Keeps the lead from dissolving.

[testhop]

when a bullet or boolit enters a body and not removed and is in a place that is notmoving much it will become coverd iwith a grizzlre l ike covering to protect the body but if it is in a place that moves a lot then the bullet deslovves and lead poisensit in

[FISH4BUGS]

I have a 22 bullet in my right leg down near the ankle. It has been there for some 40 years. It moves a bit but hasn't in some time. It just sits there minding its own business. I get my blood lead level checked every year - not because of the bullet but because of the casting and smelting. I have been steady at about 8 for many years. .....there is nothing to break it down in the body except stomach acid, and that is a LONG way from the ankle!.

[Whaump 'em]

when a bullet or boolit enters a body and not removed and is in a place that is notmoving much it will become coverd iwith a grizzlre l ike covering to protect the body but if it is in a place that moves a lot then the bullet deslovves and lead poisensit in

A fishing buddy of mine was 2x wounded in Korea and still carries grenade fragments in his body, never asked him why but his longtime friends call him "GRIZZLY" I can guess why now.

[jim4065]

I was shot by a 12 gauge loaded with #4 shot (not 4 Buck) some 26 years ago. Because most of the pellets were lodged in my back (and I had no insurance) the doctors elected to leave them in place. All 34 are still there - to the delight and edification of some few radiologists. No sign of them losing any mass through the years, so I have to assume they're encysted.

[Ricochet]

In the slightly alkaline environment of blood plasma and other body fluids, bathed in sodium bicarbonate and phosphates, the lead will be coated by an insoluble film anyway. "Insoluble" for practical purposes, the solubility's extremely low.

[9.3X62AL]

Like 40-65, I had four #4 birdshot installed in my face in 1981. One was removed, the other 3 are still there. As far as I can tell, they haven't moved or melted or done anything for 26 years except entertain radiologists. They don't even show up on airport magnetometers, so they are no fun at all. The installation didn't drive any sense into me, either--I stayed with cop work for another 24 years. Perhaps Mom was right--when told of the shotgun wound being in the face and head, she observed that a head wound on me couldn't be serious. I've meant to ask about that remark, but she deftly deflects the question every time.

Lead levels are below normal on every test. I really think EPA and USFWS need to find another bogeyman to scare kids with.

[felix]

Lots of folks have blood in the 5.0 ph range, and that's bad. There has never been a case of cancer in anyone with a blood ph of 7.0 or above. Don't know where I read that, but the surprise was enough to make me remember the words. ... felix

[Ricochet]

Normal blood pH is about 7.40. Stays pretty closely regulated around 7.35-7.45 under usual conditions. Most folks are near-comatose and in very serious trouble if it gets down to 7.0. Takes something bad like diabetic ketoacidosis or lactic acidosis to do that. I think you're thinking about urine pH. It varies over a pretty wide range from around 4.5 to 8.5.

[felix]

Yep, that's what I read, no doubt. But, at my age who knows what was read or just dreampt up. ... felix

[Ricochet]

I know what you mean. :-D

[targetshootr]

if you get shot in a place the doctors can not remove the bullet............??? Sounds like a story in there we'd like to hear.

:Fire: