What immediate health effects can result from elemental mercury exposure?
Inhaling high concentrations of mercury vapor can cause a cough, chills, fever, and shortness of breath, and sometimes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms do not usually develop immediately: they might appear a few hours after exposure. Symptoms might resolve or gradually progress to cause serious damage to the lungs and kidneys. Unintentional swallowing of liquid mercury usually causes no health effects. Can elemental mercury poisoning be treated? Typically, low-level exposure to elemental mercury leads to no lasting health effects and treatment is not needed. Severely affected individuals must be hospitalized. Are any future health effects likely to occur? A single small exposure from which a person recovers quickly is not likely to cause delayed or long-term effects. After a serious exposure, damage to the lungs, kidneys, and central nervous system might occur. What tests can be done if a person has been exposed to elemental mercury? Specific tests for the presence of mer
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