Edgar Allan Poe: Heavy Metal Poisoning

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Most people think they know how Edgar Allan Poe met death. Alcohol, right? Actually, no, Edgar Allan Poe was killed by the toxic heavy metal poisoning, Heavy metal poisoning is the toxic accumulation of heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, in the soft tissue of the body. Toward the end of Poe's life, he showed all the signs of heavy metal poisoning. Another theory of his death is rabies. That, however, is not true.

To begin with, when tested, Edgar Allan Poe had elevated levels of heavy metals, specifically mercury, in his hair. Heavy metals can come from industrial exposure, air or water pollution, foods, and medicine. In 1849, Poe was exposed to a cholera epidemic, his doctor prescribed calomel (mercury chloride). In the article "The (Still) Mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe," Chris Semtner says, "The levels of mercury found in Poe's hair, even at their highest, are still 30 times below the level consistent with mercury poisoning." Even though the tests proved this, Poe had been exposed to heavy metals throughout his life. This long-term exposure, along with his alcohol problem, could have caused kidney/organ failure. Medicine in the 1800s was not as advanced as modern medicine. The doctors only …show more content…

Rabies is a deadly virus spread to people from the saliva of infected animals. The symptoms of rabies are perspiring heavily, shouting at nothing, and hallucination. Poe's doctor, Dr. Henry Wilde, said, "[Poe] had all the features of encephalitic rabies." While in the hospital, Pow was very confused and belligerent, he soon died. He had no bites or scratches, however, rabies can take up to a year to show symptoms. He could have been infected by cats, since he was fond of and had many of them. However, if he did die of rabies, the doctors would have known automatically and wouldn't rule cause of death "unknown." In the 19th century, the rabies virus was very common, all dogs had to be

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