Introduction to children accidentally ingesting mercury

The thermometer contains a small amount of mercury and will not cause acute poisoning if swallowed. However, due to the high specific gravity of mercury and its insolubility in gastrointestinal fluids, it is deposited at the fundus of the stomach. It is difficult to wash out mercury by conventional gastric lavage methods. Mercury remaining in the body may continue to be absorbed, posing a threat to human health. Because children are lively and active, have strong curiosity about new things in the outside world, and have poor awareness of personal protection, they may accidentally ingest mercury. What should we do if children accidentally ingest mercury?

1. If you accidentally ingest a small amount of mercury (such as biting a mercury thermometer), no treatment is required. If you ingest a large amount, you can take milk, egg white, etc. daily to protect the gastric mucosa.

2. Go to the hospital for further examination and further mercury removal treatment if necessary.

3. Clean any remaining mercury and glass fragments in the child’s mouth promptly.

4. Try to induce vomiting by stimulating the throat with your index finger.

Since mercury is a liquid silvery-white metal, it evaporates easily at room temperature. During the production and use processes, it enters the human body mainly through the respiratory tract in the form of vapor. The absorption of metallic mercury from the gastrointestinal tract is very small and generally does not cause poisoning. Mercury can affect the normal metabolism of cells and can also enter the brain, directly damaging the central nervous system.

Theoretically, if an adult ingests more than 10 grams of mercury at a time, they may suffer from acute poisoning, which manifests as digestive system symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, increased salivation, diarrhea, kidney damage, toxic myocarditis and damage to the nervous system such as muscle tremors and neurasthenia. Children are light in weight and their bodies are not fully developed, so it is difficult to accurately calculate the amount of mercury poisoning. A small amount of mercury entering the human body generally does not show the above symptoms.

Because mercury is a heavy metal with very inactive chemical properties, it will not be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and cause poisoning. Only mercury in ionic form can be absorbed in the intestines and can cause poisoning if accidentally ingested. Normally, after accidentally swallowing mercury in a thermometer, it can be safely excreted in the feces within a few hours to more than ten hours.