What are the symptoms and/or effects of Mercury Poisoning?
Answer:
Here is an MSDS (Marterial Safety Data Sheet)for Mercury:
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/...
It has a article that states the effects of Mercury exposure.
Here's some info on long term exposure:
http://www.stepstoperfecthealth.co.uk/ar...
Here is some info on conducting tests for Mercury, not too much help as it's complex to properly diagnose:
http://mercurytalk.com/wiki/index.php/te...
If you remember playing with Mercury when younger, do you remember how long you be in contact beside the mercury? As a kid, I also played with Mercury but it be very difficult to control and as a result the exposure be minumal. You couldn't hold the stuff without it literally going through your fingers.
The TRUE problem is long term exposure. Keeping Mercury stored in-doors within a loosely capped container will expose occupant to Mercury vapors. This is how exposure that has physical effects ensue. Breathing in the vapors is hugely problematic...more so than the temporary contact by holding it surrounded by you hands while playing outside. Somebody simply forgets about it and impolitely stores the un-used Mercury...like underneath the kitchen sink.
Does this sound close to your experience?
Sounds like everything is OK...consider yourself lucky. It's dutiful to hear that you suffered no health effects.
Hope this help.
Exposure to mercury, however, does not necessarily
mean that adverse vigour effects will result. Health effects depend upon the amount of exposure, the form of mercury, and the route of exposure. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp4...
For your case, the biggest threat would have be mercury vapors reaching the brain after being inhaled and gripped through the lungs. When you were handling metallic mercury your exposure be propably limited or surrounded by ventelated areas. As far as licking your hand, gooey mercury is poorly absorbed by the skin and from the intestines. Methylmercury if the form that will collect in the tissues - the core source of this is eating fish.
So, the contract with mercury is that It is hazardous! But, some exposure path are more hazardous than otheres.
Symptoms of elemental mercury effects include these: tremors; emotional change (e.g., mood swings, irritability, nervousness, excessive shyness); insomnia; neuromuscular change (such as weakness, muscle atrophy, twitching); headache; disturbances in sensations; change in resolve responses; performance deficit on tests of cognitive function. At sophisticated exposures there may be kidney effects, respiratory dead loss and death. http://www.epa.gov/mercury/effects.htm... Additional information on the strength effects of elemental mercury is available from the IRIS database at http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0370.htm...