Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
Determine the following information:
- Patient's age, weight, and condition (for example, is the person awake or alert?)
- Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
- Time it was swallowed, inhaled, or touched
- Amount swallowed, inhaled, or touched
However, DO NOT delay calling for help if this information is not immediately available.
Poison Control, or a local emergency number
The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.
This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
See:
What to expect at the emergency room
The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
ELEMENTAL MERCURY
Inhaled elemental mercury poisoning may be difficult to treat. The patient may receive:
- Humidified oxygen or air
- Breathing tube into the lungs
- Suctioning of mercury out of the lungs
- Medication to remove mercury and heavy metals from the body
INORGANIC MERCURY
For inorganic mercury poisoning, treatment usually begins with supportive care. The patient may receive:
- Fluids by IV (into a vein)
- Medicines to treat symptoms
- Activated charcoal, a medicine that soaks up many substances from the stomach
- Medicines called chelators to remove mercury from the blood
ORGANIC MERCURY
Treatment of organic mercury usually consists of medicines called chelators to remove mercury from the blood and away from the brain and kidneys. Often, these medications will have to be used for weeks to months.
Expectations (prognosis)
Breathing in a small amount of elemental mercury will cause very few, if any, long-term side effects. However, larger amounts will lead to a long hospital stay. Permanent lung damage is likely. There may be some brain damage. Very large exposures will likely cause death.
A large overdose of inorganic mercury may cause massive blood and fluid loss, kidney failure, and likely death.
Chronic brain damage from organic mercury is difficult to treat. Although some people never recover, some success has been described in patients treated with chelation.
Previous Section
Review Date: 01/16/2011
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason
Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve,
MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
