Question

Can babies get mercury poisoning? The baby is now 2 years and 3 months old. When the baby was one month old, a thermometer at home broke, and a small piece of mercury was found in the baby’s nose three days later. At that time, it was not known whether it was removed. Later, when the baby was over a year old, another thermometer broke during play, and the elders in the family did not handle it in time. So far, other than some of the hair turning yellow (some even white), everything else is normal. Do we need to check the baby’s mercury levels internally? How can we check?

Answer

The baby may not have mercury poisoning since there are no characteristic symptoms of mercury poisoning. If there is still concern, urine and blood mercury concentrations can be measured. The yellowing of the hair may be due to other reasons, such as insufficient nutrition intake or poor intestinal digestion. It is recommended to check with a dermatologist for the reason why the hair has turned yellow and ensure adequate nutrition intake and good intestinal digestion. Wishing the baby a healthy growth!