Acrodynia—Postmortem of a Disease

Public Health Department Response to Mercury Poisoning: The Importance of Biomarkers and Risks and Benefits Analysis for Chelation Therapy

“…Of these, an estimated 10 % died. Acrodynia largely disappeared in the 1950s when the use of calomel was discontinued [4]. There are far fewer cases of acrodynia today.…”

Addendum zur Stoffmonographie Quecksilber ? Referenz- und Human-Biomonitoring-Werte der Kommission Human-Biomonitoring des Umweltbundesamtes

“…Unstrittig blieb aber, dass die Anwendung von Kalomel als Zahnpulver ("sweet mercury") in den angelsächsischen Ländern viele Fälle von Akrodynie verursacht hatte. Die Tatsache, dass nur eines von zirka 500 gleichartig mit Kalomel behandelten Kleinkindern eine Akrodynie entwickelte [11], hatte offenbar die Erkennung des Zusammenhangs zwischen Hg-Exposition und Akrodynie verzögert.…”

Unregulated potions still cause mercury poisoning

“…A Cincinnati pediatrician discovered that a common infantile and childhood illness called acrodynia or "pink disease" was caused by the widespread use of calomel in treating childhood teething and constipation. 4 As late as 1950, acrodynia accounted for more than 3% of admissions to children's wards in London hospitals. Official statistics record that 585 children died of pink disease between 1939 and 1948 in England and Wales.…”