Potential causes of hyperzincemia:
(1) diet of food high in zinc
(2) eating food or ingesting beverages stored in galvanized containers
(3) industrial exposure to zinc (smelting, welding, etc)
(4) military exposures to hexite smoke
(5) excessive use of zinc compounds to prevent the common cold
(6) therapeutic administration (for chronic ulcer, acne, etc)
(7) use of a denture adhesive containing zinc salt
(8) repeated ingestions of pennies or other objects that contain zinc
(9) children chewing on toys or objects containing zinc
(10) suicide with self injection or oral intake of zinc compounds
In addition, a false positive diagnosis of hyperzincemia can occur if a specimen or analysis is contaminated with environmental zinc.
