Severe Acute Poisoning from the Ingestion of a Permanent Wave Solution of Mercuric Chloride

Abstract

<jats:p> 1 A woman developed severe mercury intoxication from ingestion of about 2.5 g of mercuric chloride. </jats:p><jats:p> 2 Antidotal treatment with a dithiol (BAL i.m.) and a monothiol (tiopronin i.v.) was started promptly. </jats:p><jats:p> 3 Dialysis treatment thereafter markedly increased the elimination of mercury, thus hastening recovery. </jats:p><jats:p> 4 It is suggested that chelating agents associated with dialysis are an effective treatment for mercury poisoning. </jats:p>

Total Mercury Content of Skin Toning Creams and the Potential Risk to the Health of Women In Ghana

“…Marzulli and Brown (1972) found that the use of skin lightening creams containing inorganic mercury salts result in substantial absorption and accumulation in the body. Repeated application of these skin toning creams could cause cumulative effects of prolonged low level mercury exposure, which could lead to a nephritic syndrome (Giunta et al, 1983;Rosenman et al, 1986;Enwonwu, 1987). Mercury can also be transferred from the mother to the fetus during pregnancy (Kuhnert et al, 1981;Lauwerys et al, 1987).…”

Mercury Content in Skin-Lightening Creams and Potential Hazards to the Health of Saudi Women

“…Marzulli and Brown (1 972) found that the use of skin-lightening creams containing inorganic mercury salts cause substantial absorption and accumulation in the body. Repeated applications of these skin-lightening creams could cause cumulative effects of prolonged low-level mercury exposure, which could lead to a nephrotic syndrome as shown in previous studies (Giunta et al, 1983;Rosenman et al, 1986;Enwonwu, 1987). Women, especially during pregnancy and lactation, could also be at risk since a previous study by Lauwerys et al (1 987) reported a case of a woman who had recently given birth and who had used a soap during pregnancy and lactation containing 1% mercury as mercuric iodide and a mercury-containing cream.…”

“…Several studies have shown that it is possible to induce permanent kidney dysfunction by exposure to nephrotoxic chemicals during prenatal periods (Kavlock & Gray, 1983a, 1983Neubert et al, 1 985;Lauwerys et al, 1987). A recent study by Boadi et al (1 992) has shown that exposure of placental cells to mercury causes accumulation of the metal in the placental membrane and lowers the membrane fluidity, which may affect membrane function and cause damage to the developing fetus.…”

Full Recovery from a Potentially Lethal Dose of Mercuric Chloride

“…Hemodialysis may have some ability to remove mercury in association with dimercaprol and there is some limited evidence of benefit in this context [29,30]. Most other evidence suggests a low efficacy of extracorporeal elimination methods including hemodialysis in combination with chelators [18,31].…”