Topic: cesium chloride

[tielserrath]

A search of your site didn't turn up any reference to this topic, so I thought it was worth a post.

I heard about cesium chloride at the emergency medicine conference in Darwin (Australia) last week. Apparently the alt health freaks are using it for cancer, taken as an oral liquid. I know that trying to get into the mind of an altie is a serious mistake, but a. how on earth is taking a reactive metal salt in any way better than taking actual medication, and b. I can't imagine anything more obviously 'chemical' and non-natural sounding (well, apart from maybe polonium), so I'm a bit staggered that this falls into alt med's lexicon.

Jaws dropped all around the auditorium as a physician described how a man turned up unwell, with significant cardiac arrhythmias, and eventually admitted to dosing himself regularly with the stuff.

Anyway, google, as ever, turns up a wondrous store of information on cesium - venture to the wilder reaches at your peril!


BTW, should you rogues ever make the long-promised journey to Australia, I'd be happy to welcome you to Tasmania, home of some of the strangest and most famous marsupials and montremes in the world...

[stands2reason]

how on earth is taking a reactive metal salt in any way better than taking actual medication

Well, once it's in salt form, it's not going to explode. Similar to sodium. Once it combines with another element to form an ionic compound / salt, it 's not dangerous. At least not in that way.

Caesium compounds are rarely encountered by most persons. All caesium compounds should be regarded as mildly toxic because of its chemical similarity to potassium. Large amounts cause hyperirritability and spasms, but such amounts would not ordinarily be encountered in natural sources, so Cs is not a major chemical environmental pollutant.

Like other heavy metals, they displace other important metals, in this case potassium (important for neuronal activity, and probably other stuff).

[Beleth]

Anyway, google, as ever, turns up a wondrous store of information on cesium - venture to the wilder reaches at your peril!

You said it!

I know that this probably has nothing to do with "medicinal" cesium chloride, but I came across this tragic story while reading up on cesium.   

[Joe B]

If they give enough Cesium then they can actually treat the patient with Chelation.

(Un)Funnily enough alties use both for heart disease.