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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Will Happen If Little Amount Of Mercury Goes Into The Stomach ?

I m a 20 years old woman. yesterday when i was doing an experiment in the laboratory some mercury spilled on me,i washed my hands only after an hour or more. now I m very much tensed.what would happen if i had got some mercury inside my mouth or inhaled its vapour? is it really fatal?
Thu, 26 Jan 2012
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Mercury Poisoning by vapours is very rare. There is some probability of penetration of mercuty through skin. Second is passage to stomach because of unwashed hands. The dosage inhaled would be very important. But it seems that very low doses are involved in your case and it would not be fatal at such levels.
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  User's Response
Hi, Welcome to Healthcaremagic!

M'me, it will depend upon form of mercury. Elemental mercury [Hg], eg., like present in thermometer is non toxic, but mercury ions are toxic. Quantification in your case is probably impossible, but if you work with mercury compounds [like calomel; ask your lab workers] you may be at significant risk of toxicity. Please do contact a poison information centre. Note. In India, the centre is at Dept of Pharmacology, AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi,-- Take phone no. at www.aiims.edu or www.aiims.ac.in
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What Will Happen If Little Amount Of Mercury Goes Into The Stomach ?

Mercury Poisoning by vapours is very rare. There is some probability of penetration of mercuty through skin. Second is passage to stomach because of unwashed hands. The dosage inhaled would be very important. But it seems that very low doses are involved in your case and it would not be fatal at such levels.