![]() Tetsuya Endo, a professor at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, has tested whale meat purchased in the whaling town of Taiji and found mercury levels more than 20 times the acceptable Japanese standard. Ĭonsumption of whale and dolphin meat, as is the practice in Japan, is a source of high levels of mercury poisoning. Mercury's zero oxidation state ( Hg 0) exists as vapor or as liquid metal, its mercurous state (Hg +) exists as inorganic salts, and its mercuric state (Hg 2+) may form either inorganic salts or organomercury compounds. Īll of these, except elemental liquid mercury, produce toxicity or death with less than a gram. Exposure to mercury can occur from breathing contaminated air, from eating foods that have acquired mercury residues during processing, from exposure to mercury vapor in mercury amalgam dental restorations, and from improper use or disposal of mercury and mercury-containing objects, for example, after spills of elemental mercury or improper disposal of fluorescent lamps. Causes Ĭonsumption of fish containing mercury is by far the most significant source of ingestion-related mercury exposure in humans, although plants and livestock also contain mercury due to bioconcentration of organic mercury from seawater, freshwater, marine and lacustrine sediments, soils, and atmosphere, and due to biomagnification by ingesting other mercury-containing organisms. Desquamation (skin peeling) can occur with severe mercury poisoning acquired by handling elemental mercury. Thus, the clinical presentation may resemble pheochromocytoma or Kawasaki disease. Fanconi syndrome) or neuropsychiatric symptoms such as emotional lability, memory impairment, or insomnia. Other symptoms may include kidney dysfunction (e.g. Īffected children may show red cheeks, nose and lips, loss of hair, teeth, and nails, transient rashes, hypotonia (muscle weakness), and increased sensitivity to light. adrenaline), a person with mercury poisoning may experience profuse sweating, tachycardia (persistently faster-than-normal heart beat), increased salivation, and hypertension (high blood pressure). Due to the body's inability to degrade catecholamines (e.g. Mercury irreversibly inhibits selenium-dependent enzymes (see below) and may also inactivate S-adenosyl-methionine, which is necessary for catecholamine catabolism by catechol- O-methyl transferase. Ĭommon symptoms of mercury poisoning are peripheral neuropathy, presenting as paresthesia or itching, burning, pain, or even a sensation that resembles small insects crawling on or under the skin ( formication) skin discoloration (pink cheeks, fingertips and toes) swelling and desquamation (shedding or peeling of skin). In certain communities that survive on fishing, rates of mercury poisoning among children have been as high as 1.7 per 100. Chelation for those with long-term exposure is of unclear benefit. In those with acute poisoning from inorganic mercury salts, chelation with either dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) or dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS) appears to improve outcomes if given within a few hours of exposure. Prevention includes eating a diet low in mercury, removing mercury from medical and other devices, proper disposal of mercury, and not mining further mercury. Tests of the blood, urine, and hair for mercury are available but do not relate well to the amount in the body. Human activities that release mercury into the environment include the burning of coal and mining of gold. Less commonly, poisoning may occur as a method of attempted suicide. In fish, those higher up in the food chain generally have higher levels of mercury, a process known as biomagnification. Most exposure is from eating fish, amalgam-based dental fillings, or exposure at a workplace. įorms of mercury exposure include metal, vapor, salt, and organic compound. The effects of long-term low-dose exposure to methylmercury are unclear. ![]() Long-term complications may include kidney problems and decreased intelligence. Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia (pink disease) in which the skin becomes pink and peels. High-level exposure to methylmercury is known as Minamata disease. ![]() They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes, anxiety, memory problems, trouble speaking, trouble hearing, or trouble seeing. ![]() Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Kidney problems, decreased intelligence Ĭonsumption of fish, which may contain mercury ĭecreasing use of mercury, low mercury diet Īcute poisoning: dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS) Muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet The bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer Mercury toxicity, mercury overdose, mercury intoxication, hydrargyria, mercurialism
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