Signs of mercury poisoning

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Vu Huu Thang - Emergency Resuscitation Doctor - Emergency Resuscitation Department - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital. The doctor has nearly 10 years of experience in Emergency Resuscitation.
The most common early sign of mercury poisoning is a paresthesia such as a sharp pain in the lips, fingers, and toes. People who breathe in the fumes of this metal often experience shortness of breath, coughs, chills, fatigue, headaches, and possibly fever.

1. Source of mercury contamination

Mercury is a silver-gray metal that exists as a liquid at room temperature. Mercury is toxic, harmful to humans when exposed to them through skin contact, through inhalation,...
The most common way of exposure to mercury is through food when consuming seafood or food. materials that contain salt or organic forms of mercury. The operation of coal-fired power plants, incinerators and forest fires can also be sources of mercury vapor that affects people living in the surrounding area.
Depending on different sources of infection, patients can be poisoned with different forms of mercury:
Methyl mercury: This is the most toxic form of mercury. Methyl mercury can enter the body when people eat some saltwater and freshwater fish, especially large fish at the top of the food chain such as sharks or swordfish, etc. Inorganic mercury compounds. : This form is commonly found in batteries, oral medications, ointments, mosquito sprays, and some herbal medicines. Ingestion or accidental inhalation of vapors of these substances can expose people to mercury. Phenyl mercury (phenyl mercury): commonly found in latex paints, exterior paints, waterproofing baits, eye cosmetics, and personal hygiene tools. Phenyl mercury enters the body when inhaled as a vapor, absorbed through the skin, or through the gastrointestinal tract.

2. Symptoms of mercury poisoning

Once exposed to the body, mercury is absorbed almost completely into the bloodstream and distributed to all tissues including the liver and brain and nerves. Typical signs of neurotoxicity that patients can feel:
The first sign of mercury poisoning is numbness and stinging pain in the lips, fingers and toes, called schizophrenia. paresthesia.
Long-term exposure to mercury can lead to tremors, incoordination, personality changes, memory loss, insomnia, fatigue, headaches, weight loss, and psychological stress. . These symptoms occur when the average person is exposed to mercury concentrations in the air above 50 micrograms/m3.
Depending on the form of mercury (Hg) causing poisoning, the duration and intensity of exposure and the health status of the exposed person, clinical manifestations of poisoning are different:
Manifestations of poisoning by inhalation of mercury vapors Inhalation of mercury causes acute severe lung disease. The first symptom is fever caused by metal fumes, including: fever, chills, shortness of breath, usually appearing after a few hours.
Patients may experience other acute symptoms such as abdominal pain, stomatitis, dizziness, convulsions, vomiting and enteritis. These symptoms usually subside within a week. However, in some cases, the progression is more severe than acute pulmonary edema, respiratory failure and death.
In this case, it is necessary to quickly remove the victim from the environment causing poisoning, remove clothing if mercury is on the skin, wash with clean water, wash eyes if there is contact in eyes... Then quickly take the victim to the nearest hospital to check and accurately assess the poisoning status.
Chronic poisoning by inhalation of mercury causes the classic triad: gingivitis and salivation, tremors and neuropsychiatric disorders. In children, there may be insomnia, forgetfulness, poor appetite, sadness.
Manifestations of poisoning by food sources containing mercury Eating food contaminated with organic mercury such as marine fish causes chronic poisoning. Symptoms of poisoning usually take days to weeks to appear.
Common neurological manifestations are paresthesia, ataxia, neurasthenia, more severe hearing loss, dysarthria, mental disorders, muscle tremors, movement disorders. If not treated promptly, it can lead to death of the patient.
Miscarriage, neurological defects, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, limb deformity are complications that mothers can face if mercury poisoning during pregnancy. This problem is common in pregnant women who regularly eat marine fish contaminated with mercury. Mercury can pass through the placenta to the fetus and fetal brain causing many complications.
Manifestations of poisoning by ingesting mercury This is usually caused by a broken thermometer. But because mercury is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract as much if the intestines are healthy, there is no damage.
Ingestion of inorganic mercury (typically batteries) can cause burning of the oral mucosa, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting blood. A few days later, it develops into acute tubular necrosis, causing renal failure, fluid and electrolyte disturbances that can be fatal.

3. Measures to prevent mercury poisoning

Some measures can help limit exposure to mercury:
Avoid exposure to mercury vapor, especially in areas with fire or high temperatures because mercury vapor is very toxic. Limit your child's exposure to mercury, especially fragile items like mercury thermometers. If a child is found to have swallowed mercury in the thermometer, parents should take the child to a medical center immediately. Absolutely do not hook the throat, causing vomiting because this can be more dangerous for the child. Limit your intake of foods with a high risk of mercury poisoning, especially fish that live in deep sea areas. In case of detecting signs of poisoning, the patient should go to the hospital for examination immediately to receive timely treatment, to avoid possible serious consequences.

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