mercury shit

[asecin]

anyone has any idea how to cleanse ur body from mercury ? i heard that shit stays in ur body for life

 

[Clean_Cut]

Doesn't N-acetyl-cysteine help cleanse the body of heavy metals? I might be wrong but I think I remember something like that...

 

[SpelunkingTheMind]

oof, i'm worried about this too.. i've recently cut non-fish meat out of my diet, and find myself eating tons of fish.. very worried about the mercury. i'm trying to eat low-mercury fish, but i keep coming back to canned tuna. alas, so cheap and tasty :/.

any particular reason you're worried?

 

[asecin]

aceventura did u just solicited my thread with a "how to roll a blunt" link ?

 

[n3ophy7e]

^ Why yes, yes he did. And now he's banned

 

[Binge Artist]

anyone has any idea how to cleanse ur body from mercury ? i heard that shit stays in ur body for life

I once bet a friend $100 that he wouldn't drink a thermometer. He did, and while he got violently ill, he survived. IIRC, the folks at the hospital said that under most cases mercury wasn't bioavailable.

 

[Dave]

There are specific therapies designed to remove mercury from the body, usually involving long courses of strong chelators/ligands-- organic compounds which are able to bond in a specific way to metal atoms and ions depending on the situation. AFAIK each type of metal poisoning has its own ligand for removal, but EDTA (commonly found in canned and other prepared food to prevent metal poisoning) is a good general first-line ligand as it is able to bond reversibly in up to four sites on the same metal centre depending on the oxidation state of the metal and the charge of EDTA (can go from neutral to +4 depending on pH).

That said, if you think that you may have mercury or other metal poisoning, go see a doctor. Uncoordinated ligands can mess with various processes in your body, and the therapy should be pretty closely monitored to prevent any troubles.

 

[toolfan420]

I once bet a friend $100 that he wouldn't drink a thermometer. He did, and while he got violently ill, he survived. IIRC, the folks at the hospital said that under most cases mercury wasn't bioavailable.

what the fuck? I was going to respond to this but I'm not even sure what to say.

There are treatments to help remove metals from the body including mercury. As dave said you should see a doctor if you suspect you have any problems.

 

[Dave]

Also, most thermometers don't use mercury any more. Any fluid will work, and IIRC they use some higher alcohol (dyed obviously) in most. That would make someone who was foolish enough to drink it sick, but there would be too little to kill them. Plus if it's broken and spilled you don't have to call hazmat.

 

[yucatanboy2]

I have a book that might have the answer, but its at work. Called the elements of poison by John Emsley, which discusses poisonings by elemental toxins and how they are detected and treated.

I wouldn't try to do it by yourself, as some of the treatments are dangerous, and should be monitored by doctors. That said, if you're concerned, you can have your urine/blood tested for mercury.

 

[jamesmartin]

How did you manage to get mecury in your body in the first place ?

Drinkin a thermometer ?

 

[delta_9]

^Mercury can accumulate in the body over time via contaminated food. Of particular concern is fish caught in polluted waters. Mercury is also found in water supplies contaminated by industrial processes and in pesticides. Another common source is dental fillings.

Sulfer containing amino acids like cysteine and methionine may help prevent against mercury, lead, and cadmium toxicity. Alginic acid(found in seaweed) and pectin(found in fruit) may help chelate and remove heavy metals from the body. Selemiun is a mercury antagonist, and penicillamine and EDTA are also used, as mentioned by Dave.

 

[yucatanboy2]

Mercury is prevalent in/near mining areas where gold was or is mined, because they used it to amalgamate the gold to collect it all and then the mercury off. Some processing plants still use mercury and its still used in the third world for mining and processing.

(If you have a gold ring and touch mercury, the mercury will stick to the gold and not come off, or "amalgamate". You have to boil it off which is BAD. I know a professor who accidentally got mercury on his gold wedding ring and basically had to send it to be disposed and get a new ring).

Its gets into the water and accumulates in fish and other organisms. Fish travel, and the mercury gets around.

In brazil, they still mine gold with mercury, so I'd advise against eating fish from the rivers of brazil.

Mercury reagents are often much more dangerous that the metallic mercury.

If ever you are in a lab that uses alkylmercury reagents (ie methylmercury derivatives), be very careful. That stuff kills and there is practically no way to stop it. It can be rapidly absorbed through the skin or inhalation.

Here's a case of a researcher at Dartmouth who died from mercury poisoning from alkyl mercury reagents:
http://collaborations.denison.edu/naosmm/topics/dartmouth.html

The mercury in thermometers/barometers is safer, but can be toxic over time, and humans/animals/bacteria actually make it more toxic in by methylating the mercury in vivo.

Here's a site with some info on testing and treatment of heavy metal poisoning:
http://www.beatcfsandfms.org/html/CheckForHg.html

Heavy metal poisoning can often be misdiagnosed at low levels, its not a bad idea to test once in a while if you are feeling crappy for long periods of time.

Also, your local water company usually montors the local water and reports on the metal content. Check with them periodically.

 

[jamesmartin]

:-0

...shit .

 

[asecin]

good dose of mercury information

 

[thujone]

send a sample of your hair to one of the labs doing metals analysis first to see if there's actually reason for concern. zeolite is pretty popular chelating agent for mercury, seems to work.

 

[asecin]

i saw advertising on internets for selling zeolites but i learned from people its usually a scam.

 

[thujone]

then i guess you're SOL

 

[Dave]

If the zeolite is of the right sort, it will bond mercury quite well... in vitro. Unless the mercury is still in his digestive system, then a zeolite wouldn't be the way to go. I'd probably say EDTA would work best, but seriously -- see a doctor.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Go see a doctor.