Is mercury out of a thermometer dangerous?

my curious son just busted a thermometer with a lighter

he got mercury all over his hand, he came right in and washed with dish soap.

do i need to be concerned?

Mercury is a dangerous metal. It emits toxic gas, and can absorbed through the skin. He reacted correctly by washing off. It's important to find any mercury that fell to the floor and remove it. Good luck.

yes if prolonged contact is maintained. sounds like you should not be concerned. just find where he broke it and make sure no animals or other people can come into contact with it.

Yes, mercury is very dangerous. You should call up a doctor.

yesm indeedy it is

no

actually, mercury thermometers have been recalled. only digital thermometers should be used. you may want to talk to you doctor-- or maybe even take your son to the er. and what was your son doing with a lighter????

YES, you need to take him to the doctor right away. Even limited exposure to mercury is dangerous.

Sources of elemental mercury in the home include broken mercury thermometers, broken fluorescent light bulbs, dental amalgam fillings, mercury containing latex paints, extraction of gold from ore using mercury, and contaminated clothing from workers in thermometer making plants. Elemental mercury is also used as a Mexican folk medicine to treat "empacho," a chronic stomach disorder.

Of all the forms of mercury, elemental mercury is the most commonly swallowed form of mercury, usually from a broken thermometer. Fortunately, elemental mercury from a thermometer is not absorbed from the stomach and will not cause any poisoning in a healthy person. In a healthy person, the slippery swallowed mercury will roll into the stomach, out in to the bowels and will be quickly eliminated without causing any symptoms. A person with severe inflammatory bowel disease or those with a fistula (hole or opening) in their gut may have problems with mercury if it is not all cleared out, resulting in prolonged exposure. Handling liquid mercury for a very short period of time usually does not result in any problems. An allergic rash is possible, though. Mercury is not well absorbed across the skin so skin contact is not likely to cause mercury poisoning, especially with a brief one-time exposure. Even if a person has cuts in their skin, mercury is too heavy to be contained by a cut. Merely washing the wound well will wash the mercury out of the wound.

Inhalation of elemental mercury vapors is the main cause of toxicity, as mercury is well absorbed by the lungs. To develop problems by inhalation you need either a large one-time exposure or a long-term exposure. A small, one-time exposure is not likely to cause problems.

After a large, one-time inhalation exposure of mercury vapor, the lungs are the main target of mercury poisoning, although other symptoms develop as well. Symptoms may develop within a few hours and include chills, metallic taste, mouth sores, swollen gums, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, weakness, confusion, shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness, bronchitis, pneumonia and kidney damage.

Long-term exposure (usually work-related) of inhaled vapors is generally more dangerous than a one-time short exposure. After long-term inhalation exposure, the nervous system is the main target of toxicity. Symptoms may occur within weeks but usually develop insidiously over a period of years. Neurologic symptoms include tremors, headaches, short-term memory loss, incoordination, weakness, loss of appetite, altered sense of taste and smell, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, insomnia, and excessive sweating. Psychiatric effects are also seen after long-term exposure. Acrodynia can result from repeated exposures to mercury-containing latex paint fumes. Acrodynia is usually seen in younger children. The symptoms include chills, sweating, body rash, irritability, sleeplessness, leg cramps, swelling of the cheeks, nose, hands and feet, light-sensitivity to the eyes and peeling skin layers on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Yes, it's very dangerous, but if he washed it off his skin right away, then he should be fine. Just make sure the area that he was in when the thermometer broke is cleaned really good or little tykes and pets could be harmed. You could do an Internet search on the dangers of mercury so you can explain to him what mercury could do to someone. It can be fatal.

Probably nothing to be concerned about but Mercury is skin absorbable and creates the same general types of problems lead poisoning would but it takes prolonged exposure he more than likely won't have any problems. No ingestion right?