Mercury poisoning symptoms

Signs & Symptoms of Mercury Vapor Exposure from Mercury Amalgam Dental Fillings

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Signs & Symptoms of Mercury Vapor Exposure

from Mercury Amalgam Dental Fillings

1. Psychological Disturbances (erethysm)
Irritability, Nervousness, Fits of Anger, Memory Loss, Lack of Attention, Depression, Low Self Confidence, Anxiety, Drowsiness, Shyness/timidity, Decline of Intellect, Insomnia, Low Self Control.

2. Oral Cavity Disorders
Bleeding Gums, White Patches - Mouth, Stomatitis, Bone Loss Around Teeth, Loosening of Teeth, Ulcers of Gums- Palate- Tongue, Excessive Saliva, Burning of Mouth, Foul Breath, Gum Pigmentation, Metalic Taste.

3. Gastrointestinal Effects
Abdominal Cramps, Colitis, Crohn's disease, Gastrointestinal Problems, Diarrhea.

4. Systemic Effects
Cardiovascular, Irregular Heart Beat, Changes in Blood Pressure, Feeble or  Irregular Pulse, Pain or Pressure in Chest

5. Neurologic
Chronic or Frequent Headaches, Dizziness, Ringing or Noises in Ears, Fine Tremors (Hands, Feet, Eye Lids, Tongue)

6. Respiratory
Persistant Cough, Emphysema, Shallow or Irregular Breathing.

7. Immunological
Allergies, Asthma, Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Swollen Lymph Nodes in Neck

8. Endocrine
Subnormal Temperature, Cold Clammy Hands & Feet, Excessive Perspiration, Muscle Weakness, Fatigue, Hypoxia, Edema, Loss of Appetite, Loss of Weight, Joint Pain

"...The primary symptoms of mercury-poisoning are vague psychic ones. Short-time memory deteriorates. You will find it difficult to concentrate on tasks which require attention and thinking. It is easier to execute tasks that are well known rather than to learn something new. You avoid social contacts which demand that you get out of your introvert behavior. You loose your temper easily and switch between different moods for no particular reason. Little by little, a more physical kind of exhaustion is added to the condition. More and more effort is required to initiate activities and sometimes break things due to inability to co-ordinate your movements with your visual impressions (ataxia). Occasional headaches, minor involuntary muscle spasms or ticks within groups of muscles can also appear. Hands and feet become easily cold, attacks of dizziness or vertigo can occur, and periodically you may find it difficult to focus your eyes and to see clearly. Joint and muscle pains, stiffness, lumbago and similar symptoms often appear at an early stage. They can be caused or increased by low availability of the trace element selenium. Nervous heart, sometimes accompanied by a week pulse, sometimes by a hard pulse, creates a feeling of anxiety. You don't sleep well, you wake up stiff and never feel thoroughly rested. As a whole you need more sleep than before, and you are constantly tired. Some individuals develop pronounced intestinal and stomach disturbances. Bloating is common and diarrhea can alternate with constipation. From 50 to 200 micrograms mercury from amalgam daily passes the gastrointestinal tract. There is usually irritation where mercury first interacts with tissues. The upper respiratory tract easily becomes chronically inflamed and symptoms in mouth appear. The gums bleed when you brush your teeth, red and white irritations (lichen, leukoplakia) araise, blisters and sensitivity to certain nutritives develop, ypur teeth ache, the whole jaw can become more or less inflamed, and some persons develop sinusitis. Metal taste in your mouth is a direct sign of metal-poisoning (mercury, copper). The more poisoned you are, the more serious and chronic your problems become. The piruitary gland will be affected which often leads to frequent urination. When the thyroid gland is affected secondary effects on metabolism can appear. Both glands accumulate mercury. neurological symptoms such as numbness, hypersensitivity and paralysis exacerbate. It is often hard to determine if the cause is in the nervous or circulatory systems..."

Other sources of mercury:

Cosmetics:

Title :

Update: mercury poisoning associated with beauty cream--Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, 1996.

Source :

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 45(29):633-5 1996 Jul 26

Abstract :

During September 1995-May 1996, the Texas Department of Health (TDH), the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDH), and the San Diego County (California) Health Department investigated three cases of mercury poisoning associated with the use of a mercury-containing beauty cream produced in Mexico. The ongoing investigation has found this product in shops and flea markets in the United States located near the U.S.-Mexico border, and a U.S. distributor has been identified in Los Angeles. The cream, marketed as "Crema de Belleza--Manning" for skin cleansing and prevention of acne, listed "calomel" (mercurous chloride [Hg2Cl2]) as an ingredient and contained 6% to 10% mercury
by weight. This report presents findings of a continuing investigation by these health departments, the Arizona Dept of Health Services (ADHS), California State Department of Health Services (CSDHS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and CDC.

Title :

[Chronic mercury poisoning from cosmetic creams (author's transl)]

Author :

Summa JD

Source :

MMW Munch Med Wochenschr, 117(26):1121-4 1975 Jun 27

Abstract :

Two cases of chronic mercury poisoning are reported. Both patients had used a skin cream containing mercury for years which contained the latter substance in various strengths (3%-50%). The creams are commercially available, usually in 20 g tin as a skin whitener or skin care preparation. According to the regulations in force, preparations containing not more than 5% Hg in the form
of white precipitate can be freely obtained without prescription in drug- stores and perhaps also in shops dealing in cosmetics. The limits of tolerance at which the first symptoms of mercury poisoning may appear may perhaps have been already reached by the regular use of freely purchasable preparations. 

Title:

[Nail changes and loss of hair: cardinal signs of mercury poisoning from hair bleaches (author's transl)]

Author :

WĻustner H; Orfanos CE; Steinbach H; KĻaferstein H; Herpers H

Source :

Dtsch Med Wochenschr, 100(34):1694-7, 1692 1975 Aug 22

Abstract :

In the German Federal Republic it has recently become known that generalised disorders of chronic mercury poisoning (loss of weight, stomatitis, hearing and sensory loss, emotional disturbances) have accompanied the cardinal signs of nail discolouration and loss of hair. The mercury content of nails in such patients was extremely high (1720 mg/l). The urinary level of mercury after dimercaprol injection was 1.97 mg/l, about 400 times above the upper limit of normal (0.005 mg/l). The poisoning was apparently caused by the use of mercury-containing bleaches (about 5% and 6% Hg) which do not require prescription and are marketed without any statement about composition or possible side-effects. The cases are a warning against uncontrolled use of external application of mercury-containing preparations.