Has there ever been a case of flouride poisoning from drinking flouridated tap water?
546630
Absolutely not. But there have been cases where subtherapeutic levels of fluoride have been added to the water, too little to do any good. Happened in my town.
153653
Water from the tap has several ions in it.  Some are added by people (like fluorine) and some arent (like sodium).  Also, water from the tap has several impurities.  \n\nWhen water is distilled, it is purified.  This water is deionized (some people call it DI water).  The water is free of impurities.  Without impurities, chemical "tests" can be run very efficiently and effectively with water.
147694
"The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) regulates public water supplies\nin England and Wales. It is independent.  The DWI “is responsible for\nassessing the quality of drinking water in England and Wales, taking\nenforcement action if standards are not being met, and appropriate\naction when water is unfit for human consumption.”\nhttp://www.dwi.gov.uk/\n\nThe below quote is from a detailed report on water quality in Thames\nWater, taken from the Drinking Water 2004 report.\n\n“Nearly all the tests met the relevant mandatory quality standards\n(148 failures out of a total of 335,073 tests) demonstrating the good\nquality of drinking water in the region.”\n\nFluoride was tested on 2078 occasions and on each occasion was within\nthe limits set down.\n\nWhen you read the report makes sure you have the pdf bookmarks open on\nthe left as the pdf has links to other parts of the report.\nHttp://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/annrep04/Thames%20Region.pdf\n\nThe home page of DWI has links to other general facts about water\nquality and advice which you may wish to explore.\n\nI’m not sure as to what you mean by fluoride is put in as a social\ncontrol, fluoride is argued to be beneficially for dental hygiene. In\nany event, Thames Water has naturally occurring fluoride, so none is\nadded.\n\nBritish Medical Association.\n“Northumbrian Water Ltd., Yorkshire Water Services Ltd. And Thames\nWater Utilities Ltd supply water in which flouride occurs naturally,\nto some areas approaching one part per million.”\nhttp://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/Water+fluoridation\n\nReading report on the environment - page 13 confirms the above.\nHttp://www.reading.gov.uk/Documents/ourenvironment/stateoftheenvironment/Chap005_Water.pdf\n\nI know this is not independent, but this is from Thames Water itself.\n\n“Fluoride\nFluoride occurs in soils and rocks and therefore may occur naturally\nin drinking water. The concentration of fluoride in water depends on\nthe type of rock or soil the water has come into contact with. In the\nThames Water area concentrations are generally between 0.1-0.4mg/l,\nalthough in an area to the south and west of Reading the\nconcentrations are typically around 1mg/l due to the local geology.\n\nFluoride concentrations in drinking water of 1mg/l are considered to\nreduce the incidence of tooth decay and for this reason fluoride is\nadded to some water supplies. Fluoride was not added to any Thames\nWater supply during 2004. All of the 2,078 analyses for fluoride\ncomplied with the standard of 1.5mg/l.”\n\nThere is also a section on lead which indicates that is lead in\nhouseholders’ properties which is the cause of any lead pollution."
48724
Though it is of course ok to drink it, there is an argument that it is more healthy to drink tap water because of the minerals it has in it. Our bodies need trace ammounts of all kinds of minerals to survive that we don't always get from food. \n\nWe even need a small ammount of cyanide in our diet to survive. This was discovered as the technology to feed a person intravenously for a long period of time developed. Minerals that were not previously thought to be essential were found to get their way into our diets through dust that settles on our food and of course water sources, and our bodies are dependent on these minerals.
814162
Yes.  Refresh the water daily and add a tablespoon of sugar to the water before rewatering.  Keep away from the vent and fireplace if possible.
1083717
No.\nDeinonised water is water that has had mineral ions removed by ion exchange resin treatment. The water is almost as pure as distilled water, which causes no harm from drinking it.\nNo harm, providing you get the trace minerals from other sources. Such required mineralsas calcium, potassium, some sodium, magneium , some iron, trace amounts of copper, zinc, minute amounts of selenium etc.\nOther sources, of required dietary minerals, are a balanced diet, and vitamin plus minerals tablets. The latter supplemnt is highly recommended because the trace minerals in the tablet are balanced and all are present. The government R.D.I. (recommended daily intake), levels were never high enough (& were raised 2 or 3 years ago.) Also our efficiency of mineral absorption drops off after age 40 and we need more minerals in our diet to make up for it. \nSome "spring waters" have so little dissolved mineral ions in them that they are close to being deinonised water.\nIn fact, many spring water bottles contain water that does not come from springs, at all, but are deionised ground water or even tap water.\nDrinking distilled water which is purer than even deionised water causes no harm, therefor the similar,deionised water would not cause harm either.\nDan the Answers-Man.\nextra points never refused.
17385
Alot, mostly from dehydration or a heart attack or stroke. I don't think hospitals have released official numbers but its not uncommon where I live to hear of someone dying from it.
368099
No, but it wouldn't surprise me too much.  After using the stuff for about 10 days straight (not abusing it, I had a god-awful cold) I know I experienced some pretty nasty effects when I stopped.\n\nI do know that the manufacturer of Robitussin (Whitehall-Robbins) makes it taste unpleasant because they want to discourage abuse.
230666
Chlorination of drinking water eliminated typhoid, cholera, and dysentery that were commonly carried in drinking water when chlorination was introduced in the early 1900's.\n\nHowever, there are some negative effects:\nI quote:\n"... the July [1992] issue of the American Journal of Public Health, researchers found that people who regularly drink tap water containing high levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons have a greater risk of developing bladder and rectal cancers than people who drink unchlorinated water. The study estimates that about 9% of all bladder and 18% of all rectal cancer cases are associated with long-term consumption of these hydrocarbons. This amounts to over 20,000 new cases each year."\nhttp://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/water/watinorg.html\n\nEuropean water treatment has largely shifted to ozone and filtration, and they have found it works. Plus the chlorine residuals are about 10 times less than in US water.\n\nAnother negative effect of chlorination is that it can create what are known as trihalomethanes. One example of a trihalomethane is chloroform, which causes an allergic reaction in about 10% of the population. Chloroform, or trichloromethane can cause liver and kidney damage.  Fortunately the concentrations are monitored and are generally quite low. One trihalomethane, known as dibromochloromethane is associated with cancer risk of one per million at 0.6 micrograms per liter. That's about the same as 6 parts per billion. The cancer risk of this is only one per million, but that concentration is barely measureable, and most people ingest large quantities of drinking water daily, so it is not as insignificant as it may seem. \n\nBromine is also sometimes used, either in addition to chlorine, or as a substitute. This is the source of what I believe are the worst hazards, such as dibromochloromethane.\n\nAnother chemical that is added to drinking water is fluorine. Fluorine is added in much smaller concentrations than chlorine, and does substitute for some of the chlorine so it actually will reduce the amount of chlorination. You probably get quite a bit of fluorine in your toothpaste, as there is almost no toothpaste on the market today that does not contain fluoride. There are some potential negative health effects of fluoridation, however, there is lots of evidence that in the concentrations in most drinking water that it is beneficial more than harmful. Fluoridation is added in about 60% of US public drinking water.\nhttp://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/fluoridated-water\n\nIf you are concerned about your drinking water I suggest you use an activated carbon type filter and filter both drinking and cooking water. Not all activated carbon filters are created equal. Here is a source that explains what they will remove and what they won't remove:\nhttp://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/h2oqual/watsys/ae1029w.htm\n\nDrinking bottled water does not mean you have avoided this problem. Bottled water is regulated in the US by the FDA, and must generally comply with the same standards as public drinking water. In many cases it is better because reverse osmosis, or distillation has removed any potential contaminants. One trade-off is that water in plastic bottles will absorb small quantities of phthalates. Studies that showed that phthalates caused cancer in rats were generally  dismissed as not being relevant to humans. They are also known to be broken down in the body within one or two days, so do not pose a risk of bioaccumulation. I quote:\n"The CDC report is, in all, very good news because the trace levels of phthalates found are within EPA safety levels and therefore should not pose a concern for human health."\nhttp://www.phthalates.org/yourhealth/human_exposure.asp
789396
That sounds incredibly ropy, the water will combine with other contents of your stocmach. the second that occurs, one thing the water isn't, is pure!!\n\nIt is true that drinking *any* reasonably clean water to great excess can cause problems because you start removing salts from your body when you urinate.\n\nLosing electrolyte due to drinking gallons of water in a short space of time (can easily be fatal) is totally different than blaming it on the water being "too pure".\n\nI think I would counter your lab workers comments by asking them how many seconds they feel it takes the water to reach your stomach. Then after they ave said "ooh, about 1 perhaps", then ask them if the water would still be pure - swimming around with dil Hcl and the remains of the mornings breakfast.\n\nThen remind them of the ultra-pure water leaching out the "nutrients".\n\nNutrients?   And where would these leached nutrients "go" ?  Would they be filtered out by the kidneys (retained) ?\n\nLOL I am going to have to stop now or I could write for ages on this and I really need to do a little more work!
152732
My high school chemistry teacher made sure we were all warned about this dangerous chemical.\n\nH20. Water.
751709
I don't know if this is true, but I do know that Chromium picolinate has been known to cause kidney failure in some poeple.  There was a study done on wrestlers who used the chromium to decrease fat and some of them had kidney problems.
512014
yes it is very safe. yeah sure its full of chemicals. for those of you that drink ice mountian bottled water because its 'filtered and it aint tap water' news flash its tap water more speciffialy its swamp water. so bottoms up
690314
I don't drink tap water, only bottled mineral water...at least that doesn't have flouride added to it.
397244
I like Tap water! We have very good tap water here and it is better and cheaper for you! It has fluoride in it already!(which is important for your teeth!)
509262
Subject: Beware of diet soft drinks  \nDiet Softdrink is doing it...\n \n \nPlease read this! It may help you or someone you know.\n\nIn October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out\nof bed; she was in so much pain.\n\nBy March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick...she just knew she was dying.\n\nShe put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughters name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.. She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to FL (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.\n\nOn March 19th I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS. (Multiple Sclerosis)\n\nI recalled an article a friend of mine E-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda? She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment... I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda !!! I E-mailed her the article my friend, a lawyer, had sent.\n\nMy sister called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk!!!! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% but she sure felt a lot better. She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and would call me when she got home.\n\nWell, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind...\nIn a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda... and literally dying a slow and miserable death.\nWhen she got to FL March 22nd, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning! She is well on her way to a complete recovery . and she is walking!!! No wheelchair!!!\n \nThis article saved her life.\n\nIf it says "SUGAR FREE" on the label, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!\n\nI have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on "ASPARTAME," marketed as 'NutraSweet,' 'Equal,' and 'Spoonful.'\nIn the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United Statesin 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant.\n\nI stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject. I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. Many people were being diagnosed in error. Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence..., methanol toxicity is!\n\nSystemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition.. We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.\n\nIn cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, (when in reality, the disease is methanol toxicity), most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.\n\nThis also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia.\n\nDuring a lecture,
30699
A fluoride ion is the ionic form of fluorine. Fluorides are organic and inorganic compounds containing the fluorine element. As a halogen, fluorine forms a monovalent ion (-1 charge). Fluoride forms a binary compound with another element or radical. Examples of common fluoride compounds include hydrofluoric acid (HF), and sodium fluoride (NaF).\n\n\nExamples\nsodium fluoride, NaF \ncarbon tetrafluoride, CF4 \noxygen difluoride, OF2 \nSee category for a bigger list.\n\n\nUses\nFluoride containing compounds are added to toothpaste, drinking water, perscribed treatments, and other commercially available oral hygiene products because they are believed to help strengthen the tooth enamel. Sodium fluoride and Sodium fluorophosphate (SMFP) are common additives.\n\nMany local water municipalities fluoridate their water supplies by adding fluoride in concentrations of less than 4 ppm. Originally, Sodium fluoride was used to fluoridate water; however, hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6) and its salt (Na2SiF6) are more commonly used, especially in the United States.\n\nHydrofluoric acid is used in the etching of glass and other industrial applications, including integrated circuit manufacturing.\n\nFluoride ion has a very significant use in synthetic organic chemistry. The silicon-fluorine chemical bond is quite strong. Silyl ether protecting groups can be easily removed by the addition of fluoride ion. Sodium fluoride or tetra-butyl ammmonium fluoride (TBAF) are the most common reagents used.\n\n\nFluorides and human health\n\nHigher concentrations\nIn high concentrations fluoride compounds are toxic. A "certainly lethal dose" is estimated to be 32-64 fluoride mg per kilogram of body mass, although fatalities may occur in some individuals at doses as low as 5 mg/kg. Symptoms of acute toxicity (e.g. gastrointestinal distress) have been reported to occur at doses as low as 0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg.\n\nWhen ingested directly, fluoride compounds are readily absorbed by the intestines. Over time, the compound is excreted through the urine, and the half life for concentration of fluorine compounds is on an order of hours. Implied is that fluoride is taken out of circulation by the body and trace amounts bound in bone. Urine tests are a good indication of high exposure to fluoride compounds in the recent past.\n\nSkin or eye contact with many fluoride compounds (in high concentrations) is dangerous. In case of accidental swallowing, milk, calcium carbonate, or milk of magnesia is given to slow absorption. Eye or skin contact is treated by removing any contaminated clothing and flushing with water.\n\n\nLow concentrations\nFluoride is best known for its use in small quantities to help reduce Dental caries (cavity) frequency in teeth.\n\nFluoride compounds, usually calcium fluoride, are naturally found in low concentration in drinking water and some foods, like tea. The ocean itself has an averaged concentration of 1.3 ppm (parts per million). Fluoride ions replace hydroxide ions in calcium hydroxyapatite, Ca5[(PO4)3OH], in teeth, forming calcium fluoroapatite, Ca5[(PO4)3F], which is more chemically stable and dissolves at a pH of 4.5, compared to 5.5 pH for calcium hydroxyapatite. This is generally believed to lead to fewer cavities, since stronger acids are needed to attack the tooth enamel. In 1951, Joseph C. Muhler and Harry G. Day of Indiana University Bloomington reported their research results on stannous fluoride as a tooth decay preventive and the university first sold the technology to Procter & Gamble to use in Crest toothpaste.\n\nThe widely accepted adverse effect of low concentration fluoridation at this time is fluorosis. It is a condition caused by 'excessive' intake of fluorine compounds over an extended period of time, and can cause yellowing of teeth, hypothyroidism, or brittling of bones and teeth. The definition of 'excessive' in the context of fluorosis falls on the order of parts per million and is generally