Chelation can be put to several uses. Right from the time of World War I, chelating agents have been in the field of medicine. Chelating agents were used as antidotes to the poison gas used in World War. Over the years, the use of chelation has widely spread all across the medicine field. Chelation is mostly put to medicinal use for chelation therapy. When the toxic levels of harmful metals like mercury, arsenic and lead are present in the body, it becomes necessary to remove them. Chelation therapy makes use of chemicals being injected into blood veins that binds the metals present to be excreted by the body. Apart from being injected directly into the blood, oral chelation is also available. It includes intake of chelating agents from mouth. However, oral chelation has been a popular topic for debate in the recent years.



Chelation has also shown its worth in treating heart diseases. Though, treating heart ailments with the help of chelation have not been approved by FDA, many alternative medicine doctors use them for patients who suffer arteries hardening. Chelation has also been tested for effective in vascular diseases. It is much cheaper than the regular treatment because of EDTA being so cheap.

Autism, which is believed to be related to mercury poisoning in the body, is recommended to be cured with of the help of chelation. This is because, mercury being a metal can be removed by chelating agents. But the scientific studies have revealed that mercury is far away in causing autism.

There have been many controversies regarding the use of chelation. As like many other treatments, chelation also has many side effects. There could be a burning sensation when chelation agents are injected into the body. Many have been known to suffer from other minor side effects as well. These include fever, vomiting, headache and blood pressure problems. However, if the dosage of chelation is not checked, more severe side effects could occur.

Chelation seems to be the answer to many questions, but yet there are many more questions that are still unanswered. Chelation can be very hazardous. Its use must be done very carefully.