甲基汞中毒

定义

甲基汞中毒 is brain and nervous system damage from the chemical methylmercury.

本文仅供参考. Do not use it to treat or manage an actual poison exposure. If you or someone you are with has an exposure, call your local emergency number (such as 911), or the local 中毒控制中心 can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States.

选择的名字

Minamata Bay disease; Basra poison grain poisoning

有毒的成分

甲基汞

在哪里发现

甲基汞 is a type of mercury, a metal that is liquid at room temperature. 水银的别名是水银. Most compounds containing mercury are poisonous. 甲基汞 is a very poisonous form of mercury. It forms when bacteria react with mercury in water, soil, or plants. It was used to preserve grain fed to animals.

Poisoning from eating fish from water that is contaminated with methylmercury has occurred. One famous incident occurred in Minamata Bay in Japan in the 1940s. 甲基汞中毒 has also occurred in people who have eaten meat from animals fed with grain that was treated with this form of mercury. Rare cases have occurred in children who ate bread made from grain contaminated with methylmercury.

甲基汞 is used in fluorescent lights, batteries, and polyvinyl chloride. 它是一种常见的空气和水污染物.

症状

症状 of methylmercury poisoning include:

• 失明
• 脑瘫 (in the child of a pregnant woman exposed to methylmercury)
• 耳聋
• 经济增长问题
• 精神功能受损
• 肺功能损伤
• 运动或协调问题
• 癫痫发作
• 小头症(小头症)

Unborn babies and infants are very sensitive to methylmercury's effects. 甲基汞 causes central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) damage. How severe the damage is depends on how much poison gets into the body. Many of the symptoms of mercury poisoning are similar to symptoms of cerebral palsy. In fact, methylmercury is thought to cause a form of cerebral palsy.

The FDA recommends that women who are pregnant, 或者可能会怀孕, and nursing mothers avoid fish that may contain unsafe levels of methylmercury. This includes swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tilefish. 婴儿也不应该吃这些鱼. No one should eat any of these fish caught by friends and family. Check with your local or state health department for warnings against locally caught, 非商业性的鱼.

Some health care providers have raised concerns about ethyl mercury (thiomersal), 用于某些疫苗的化学物质. 然而, research shows that childhood vaccines do not lead to dangerous mercury levels in the body. Vaccines used in children today only contain trace amounts of thiomersal. 不含硫柳汞的疫苗是可用的.

拨打紧急电话前

准备好这些资料:

• Person's age, weight, and condition (for example, is the person awake and alert?)
• 汞的来源
• Time it was swallowed, inhaled, or touched
• 吞咽、吸入或触摸的量

Do not delay calling for help if you do not know the above information.

中毒控制

你当地的 中毒控制中心 can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline will let you talk to experts in poisoning. 他们会给你进一步的指示.

这是免费且保密的服务. All local 中毒控制中心s in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. 它不需要是紧急情况. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

在急诊室会发生什么

The provider will measure and monitor the person's vital signs, 包括温度, 脉冲, 呼吸率, 还有血压.

可以进行的测试包括:

• 血液和尿液测试
• 胸部x光片
• ECG(心电图)或心脏追踪

治疗包括:

• Activated charcoal by mouth or tube through the nose into the stomach, if mercury is swallowed
• 透析(肾机)
• 静脉输液(静脉注射)
• 治疗症状的药物

前景(预测)

这些症状无法逆转. 然而, they do not usually get worse unless there is a new exposure to methylmercury, or the person is still exposed to the original source. Prevention of continued exposure to mercury is the most important part of treatment.

Complications depend on how severe a person's condition is, and what their specific symptoms are (such as blindness or deafness).

参考文献

Pizzorno JE, crinion W. 环境医学. 见:Pizzorno JE, Murray MT，编. 自然医学教材. 5日艾德. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2021:chap 35.

史密斯公司. 获得性周围神经病变. In: Swaiman KF, Ashwal S, Ferriero DM, et al, eds. Swaiman's Pediatric Neurology: Principles and Practice. 6日艾德. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 142.

Theobald JL, Mycyk MB. 铁和重金属. In: Walls RM，编辑. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10日艾德. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 146.

U.S. 美国食品和药物管理局网站. 食物和膳食补充剂中的汞. 最后更新于2023年3月1日. 2023年5月19日生效.