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Mercury Poisoning Cure

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances around and in even small doses can lead to a quick and painful death. This is why there is so much health care and media focus on mercury toxicity in fish and seafood. Mercury poisoning is serious and must be treated quickly and carefully

  1. Immediate Measures

    • If mercury is freshly ingested, the treatment is the same as with most poisons -- expulsion. Typically done in an emergency room, doctors and nurses try to clean the poison out of the digestive system.

      One method is gastric lavage, or stomach pumping. Doctors insert a tube down the patient's throat and all the way in to the stomach, then pump the stomach to remove contents. Afterward, they clean the stomach with lukewarm water.

      Activated charcoal may be used alone or in addition to gastric lavage. Activated charcoal tablets, once swallowed, begin absorbing the chemicals around them and preventing them from being absorbed by the patient's digestive system.

      These treatments are only effective if mercury has not yet entered the bloodstream.

    Chelation

    • Once mercury is in the bloodstream, the focus changes to pulling the mercury back out. Chelation is a process in which chemicals that "grab" toxic metals are put into the bloodstream. As the treatment chemicals pass through the circulatory system, they carry the mercury and other heavy metals out of the blood, through the kidneys and eliminate them via urination.

      Two common chelation treatments are ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and dimercaptocuccinic acid (DMSA). These drugs are administered intravenously and are approved by the FDA for the removal of toxic metals. Both are highly successful with mercury poisoning. It may take anywhere between 5 and 30 treatments to remove all toxic metal from the body.

    Chelation Dangers

    • EDTA and DMSA are indiscrimate about the metals they clean out of the body. While they take mercury, copper, arsenic, nickel, lead and gold that don't belong in the body, they also can take iron and calcium, which are vital minerals. Patients undergoing chelation therapy must take appropriate supplements to replenish important nutrients.

      While chelation is a simple outpatient procedure, it is still treating the bloodstream and can have significant impacts and effects. Chelation should always be done under the supervision of a doctor who monitors blood and urine carefully to ensure a patient's safety.

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