Australia - Teenage years spent in misery

Teenage years spent in misery
MADELINE HEALEY
August 21, 2007
Allansford's Anne Boyle suffered fluoride poisoning as a teenager.
Picture: ANGELA MILNE
YEARS of aching bones, bad teeth and peeling skin were just some of the symptoms Allansford's Anne Boyle suffered as a result of fluoride poisoning as a teenager.
Last night Mrs Boyle stood before a huge crowd at the Emmanuel College hall and told the story of her problems with fluoride, suffered when she lived in Canberra.
``My bones ached inside and out and my teeth were in a disgusting state,'' Mrs Boyle said. ``I was very shy, had no self-esteem and didn't smile very much.'' Now in her 50s, Mrs Boyle said she used tank water at home, but if she visited Melbourne her skin still reacted to the fluoride in the city's water supply. She said she worried about what future health problems she could suffer as a result of the poisoning. Mrs Boyle said it made her angry that the State Government planned to introduce fluoride to Warrnambool's water supply. ``I hate to think that there are children out there who have to go through what I went through,'' she said. Her father Keith McDowall said that at the time doctors could not work out what was wrong with his daughter.
The retired chiropractor asked she be tested for fluoride poisoning and the reports came back that she had 40 times the recommended amount of fluoride in her body.
``I'm so glad you all turned up tonight because fluoride, we don't want,'' Mr McDowall told last night's public meeting.