Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Mercury poisoning
Summary
Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. 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. High-level exposure to methylmercury is known as Minamata disease. Methylmercury exposure in children may result in acrodynia (pink disease) in which the skin becomes pink and peels. Long-term complications may include kidney problems and decreased intelligence. The effects of long-term low-dose exposure to methylmercury are unclear.
Forms of mercury exposure include metal, vapor, salt, and organic compound. Most exposure is from eating fish, amalgam-based dental fillings, or exposure at a workplace. In fish, those higher up in the food chain generally have higher levels of mercury, a process known as biomagnification. Less commonly, poisoning may occur as a method of attempted suicide. Human activities that release mercury into the environment include the burning of coal and mining of gold. Tests of the blood, urine, and hair for mercury are available but do not relate well to the amount in the body.
Prevention includes eating a diet low in mercury, removing mercury from medical and other devices, proper disposal of mercury, and not mining further mercury. 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. Chelation for those with long-term exposure is of unclear benefit. In certain communities that survive on fishing, rates of mercury poisoning among children have been as high as 1.7 per 100.
Common 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).
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.