Tragedy of flouride affected guys

This is the picture of a flouride affected guy - The guy in the picture can never be cured of fluorosis. How sad it is?
India
February 6, 2007 9:59pm CST
This is a story of a land where excess fluoride has turned the ground water into a slow poison, crippling at least 10,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousand of others in constant misery. The seriousness of the problem can be measured by the fact that the groundwater has 10 to 12 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride in contrast to a maximum permitted level of just 1.5 ppm. People with paralysing bone diseases, stooped backs, crooked hands and legs, deformed teeth, blindness and other handicaps are a common sight. The most shocking and sad image of this suffering is Ramaswamy. At 18-years of age, when other youths are full of enthusiasm for life, Ramaswamy looks to be hardly five-years-old, with a physique completely devastated by the effects of fluoride. He is so weak that he cannot walk and weighs barely 15 kilogrammes (less than 34 lbs). He is blind and mentally challenged. He cannot recognise his own name and he cannot even eat by himself. "We have done all we could have done," says his father. This is the story of Nalgonda, one of the poorest and most drought-prone districts of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. How can we help them?
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7 responses
@crazy1 (479)
• New Zealand
8 Feb 07
That's really sad, how can it be allowed to happen.?
1 person likes this
• India
8 Feb 07
It has happened naturally
• Philippines
7 Feb 07
This is my first time to hear this. I thought fluoride is just an ingredient of toothpaste to protect the teeth. How can we help them? The government should take action to relocate them where safe or potable water is available. We can't live without water so people in that area are prone to drink water, whatever that may be. A thirsty individual would just drink any kind of water available to quench his thirst. Perhaps relocating them is easier than always supplying them with the necessary water for the supply of water may not be enough that they will keep on drinking that water which has much fluoride.
1 person likes this
• India
7 Feb 07
Relocating them from their places is an excellent idea. But, it is hard to move from their origin. The villages around the main affected area are under proverty level. Government has to do some thing for them, they just come to the villages for the votes while elections.
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@Prakash84 (437)
• India
8 Feb 07
i think we can form a group and collect some money and help them
• India
8 Feb 07
Thats good idea. Infact they need money for survival. Who will initiate that group?
@Devinarun (387)
• United States
8 Feb 07
There aremany tradegies happening like this in and around india as well as to otehr developing n under developed countries and the people theer suffer from such diseases and illness.all that we can do is create awarness.
• India
8 Feb 07
Apart from creating awareness every person should take this personally and raise the funds to eradicate flourosis from the water which is possible. For this government support is a must.
• United States
7 Feb 07
This is very sad, and we, as U.S. citizens, should really take a hard look at what this poison can do to us and our bodies. This is ridiculous, and I believe that fluoride should be obsoleted from our water. I don't believe in it anymore, and I would never give it to my child.
• India
8 Feb 07
We should keep it away from our children.
@doncris (637)
• Romania
7 Feb 07
Oh my God! That is absolutely horrible! We should all be thanking God for not letting us end up like that. But we should also do our best to help them! I think the best solution would be a law suit. Someone or some firm/company is responsible for that fluoride excess. It couldn't have come out of the air. I know it's sounds childish, but I would take the example of the movie "Erin Brockovich", because I understood it was based on true facts. The story line is pretty similar with the situation we are facing here. If there's a precedent, I mean a won trial because I suspect nobody took legal action before, the company could appeal, but it wouldn't matter anymore. Try this way.
• India
8 Feb 07
This comes with water not from air. And this is not happened because of a human interaction. All in its land/water. There are possibilities to eliminate flourosis from the water. The respective govermnet should take action.
• United States
7 Feb 07
I live in the US, and it common for many states, counties, and governments to add flouride to the water sources. They were even handing out flouride supplements in schools, where flouride wasn't put into the water. I hated it. I knew that somehow it would be damaging in the long haul, and now we know just how destroying it can be. Thanks for the information. I think it is just awful that these poor children are ill.
• India
7 Feb 07
Thanks for valuable inputs
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