What should I do if I accidentally ingest mercury

Mercury is a toxic substance, which is the common name for mercury among chemical elements. If you find that your child does not swallow mercury, you must pay attention to observation, understand the symptoms or take the child to the hospital to avoid adverse hazards as much as possible.

1. Mercury, the common name for the chemical element mercury, is the only metal that exists in liquid form at normal temperature and pressure and is toxic.

2. If your child accidentally bites the thermometer while taking the temperature, and the skin is not damaged, but mercury is swallowed, don't worry, because mercury metal can only be absorbed through the broken skin and cannot be absorbed by the intact skin. In addition, if it enters the respiratory tract in the form of vapor and is absorbed, it can cause mercury poisoning. However, it is absorbed very little in our digestive tract and is automatically excreted when it completes its journey through the digestive tract. Some parents also asked, can drinking plenty of water accelerate the excretion of mercury? The answer is no, because mercury is insoluble in water, so no matter how much water you drink, it will not have much effect! Taking some drugs to promote gastric motility may help, but the effect will be minimal.

3. Of course, some people also recommend that you take a film to observe where the mercury goes? Confirm whether it is excreted from the body? The doctor suggested that children should not take any radiation exposure if they are fine, and should be carefully observed and not be too worried if anything happens.

4. Therefore, if a child accidentally swallows mercury, emergency surgical debridement is required if there is skin damage. If it is swallowed directly into the stomach, don't worry about it. If you are worried, you can take an X-ray, but it is never good for children to be exposed to radiation. It is better to observe closely and wait for the mercury metal to be discharged.