My mercury is 3X the limit and lead is double. My doctor is clueless..... My grandmother had Mercurys that I drove but that was a long time ago...haha. Anyway, took me years to get tested....finally talked doc into it. I had exposure from large broken mercury column barometer (vacuumed up the mercury (a no-no) and some went under heater air handler) and amalgams (planning on getting my last 2 removed). Also ate alot of tuna and swordfish. Don't know what symptoms I may have. Most people buy too many Buicks, have headaches, insomnia and tinnitis, right? A guy I knew that worked in a boatyard had high mercury and did chelation therapy and said he felt like a new person. Slept great, no more headaches and interestingly less shy in social settings. BUT then he died recently from organ failure possibly due to the chelation treatments. Makes me not want to do anything about it. I suspect many people have high levels and never tested.
Here is a link with some good info: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mad-hatters-disease#risk-factors
Did you find out through a regular blood test or a specific test for Mercury? I still have a few amalgams in my teeth that have been there 40 years. I also remember "playing" with mercury from broken level switches as a kid (did not know any better) I still have the Mercury in a film container.
It was a heavy metals test. Would not be covered by insurance. Then the my doc wrote "previous exposure to mercury and lead" and the covered it. Otherwise $300 out of pocket. I get it done annually. Initially even with doc orders they refused. Then I told them...look at the results and tell me not justified!
What is your blood levels relative to guidance here? https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/Overview/8618
Wow/ 26 ug/ml? Are you sure that isn't ug/l? If you wrote that correctly that IS very high. Please check your units and have a re-test done just to verify. It is more concerning that there is also a high level of lead, that seems pretty unlikely that you would have both exposures without some plausible explanation for at least one of them. There is also a kidney function test that may be an indicator; creatinine. I think it unlikely that you can attribute the mercury to a little bit of thermometer mercury near a vent, but vacuuming and having it in a vent blowing hot air is definitely not good. and depending on the exact circumstances, maybe. Unlikely fish, unless you happen to feast on some very heavily contaminated fish regularly. Do you dance on old CFL's? They also can leak and create some amount of exposure, though I speculate not near what you appear to have experienced. Your first move should be to definitively identify the source, if possible, and remove it. There is mercury vapor testing equipment to evaluate if it is at high concentrations in your home or shop, but not something a normal person would buy or afford. Also some color changing swabs to detect mercury in dust on surfaces. Probably there is an industrial hygiene contractor in your area that can do the testing. You can probably do the cleanup yourself with some reading and research or maybe your homeowner's insurance would cover it all. If you have family or pets in the same dwelling, it may be indicative to have them tested to narrow down or confirm the source of exposure. I have used this product for cleanup at an industrial facility where we tracked mercury vapor in the facility daily, as well as employee blood levels regularly. http://ptfecatalog.actontech.com/category/hgx-mercury-decontaminant I don't know a lot about lead exposure, except that getting it on your hands and then eating with contaminated hands is a common exposure path, possibly along with inhalation of dust. Maybe heavy race gas exposure in your case? reloading? Old paint removal? Just not a lot of lead exposure paths compared to years gone by. Sorry to hear this. There are treatments, and some food supplements that should help reduce it. Don't go overboard with radical treatments unless you find a true specialist in only this that advises it. One classical treatment for mercury was as simple as drinking milk, although I don't know if that stands up to medical scrutiny today. I would look for a specialist that doesn't work on the quack-scale by calling any detectable blood-mercury a health threatening situation. Hope you find something I've written to be helpful. You can fix it.
It looks like serious exposure is supposed to be >50 nanograms/ML. What you reported above is about 500 times higher than that. So either something is wrong with your report, or something is wrong with the test, or you should be getting some kind of help ASAP.
Sorry L not ML, and it was a column barometer not a small thermometer. I collected a whole jar of mercury...still have it. HEAVY! As far as lead I spray painted models in the 60s with leaded paint and in the 80s would siphon leaded race gas.....and got a mouthful a few times...pretty stupid. And yes flouresent light bulbs have broken over the years and I cleaned up.
I was kicking ideas around and it came to me...is there a measurable amount of mercury or lead in drag slicks? If so, perhaps when your race car rolled off the trailer and you chocked it with your head, the mercury/lead seeped in through your ear or absorbed into your scalp or cheek? The other thought that came to me was whether or not bench grinders have much mercury or lead in or on them? When yours tried to kill you quickly (and thankfully failed), maybe it decided to attempt a slow murder instead? Just trying to be helpful.
Thanks for the insight Doug....you never cease to miss an opportunity. I can still see you when that slick was on my head with your hands on your hips while everyone else was trying to lift the Jag off me.
Oh don't be silly Bruce! I didn't show up on scene until five minutes after they lifted the car off of your squished melon, otherwise I'd have been glad to help!
It's all kinda fuzzy....I seem to remember sitting on the side of your trailer ramp stunned when I thought my leg hurt and pulled up my pant leg to see the big gash. I think that's when you showed up. Be 20 yrs next year....crazy.....
Wasn't my trailer ramp...I thought it was yours. I didn't have my car there that time. I hitched a ride out there with the Csordas family.
Looks like then you won the following year. I believe Rick Miller won 2003 Norwalk......the year I was squished.
I think concentrations of these metals are pretty persistent once they build up in your body? I know eating fish from some places can be a source... Older plumbing systems also might leach lead. Here is a link (Mayo clinic ) with a lot of info. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717
I worked for 6 years at a company that processed mercury. Heavy metal bloodwork at hire and at exit. The only person who ever pegged for mercury was Persian and had a seafood-based diet as a young person. We did wear respirators..
Not sure if I would believe employer testing. I once worked in a sub-basement room of a government building (that's where they put contractors) that had a big radiation sign on the doorway. I asked for a test and they sent someone down with a tester and it was making lots of noise. The guy left and came back and said it wasn't calibrated. Yeah right....no clicking at all next time. Apparently the combo of lead and mercury is worse that either alone. Been trying to eat lots of cilantro and chlorella...then read on a chelation site that they pick up the metals are deposit in organs. Don't know what to believe..... Then I read that vaccines contain thimerosal preservative which contains mercury. Very small amounts but not recommended for people already with high levels....only makes it worse. One can request a vaccine without the preservative. Wish I had known.....
