Touching Mercury (part 2) sorry...?

I asked a question (few posts down) saying i touched mercury...

What kind of thermometer is the red ones? Not the silver ones? cuz if it is alcohol thermometer... then i shouldnt worry right?

No need to worry about the red substance in a thermometer. Touching is not a problem.

The mercury filled thermometers are almost history I think but they are still used I guess because for one reason they are accurate.

As a child I used to break them and play with the mercury. I do not know if this has affected my health but am 61 and still very healthy, so don't think it did me any harm. I remember it was fun to play with and back then no one knew of the harmful effects of mercury. Like many things that are dangerous it takes a greater amount than what we might be exposed to. We are warned it is dangerous because it is but most of the time has to be ingested or handle in large amounts over a long period of time. I would not worry about it.

Anyway, hope this eases your mind about your concerns.

Ted

Touching mercury is not really that dangerous. Pure mercury, in its metallic state, is poisonous but it's hard to absorb. 150 years ago, doctors would tell people to DRINK mercury for constipation, the idea being that the heavy mercury would push stuff through their intestines.

Just wash your hands afterwards and it shouldn't be a problem.

But yes, the silver thermometers are mercury and red (or blue) ones are alcohol. The alcohol is not as dangerous (but still dangerous to some extent).