Every year, there are a dozen or even dozens of cases where children accidentally chew the thermometer and swallow the mercury, and the parents are very nervous to come to the hospital and ask me to save their children as soon as possible. Indeed, there was some not very scientific information to us, when I was very young also read some small books, small books said that the landlord Lao Cai died, to two boys and girls swallowed mercury, and then the two cute children as if asleep, sitting by the landlord Lao Cai’s coffin, for the landlord Lao Cai buried. I tell you, swallowing mercury by mistake is usually not poisoning! Because mercury, as a liquid metal, can be excreted directly from this end of the digestive tract with food all the way to the anus. The absorption rate in the digestive tract is extremely low! I have monitored the blood mercury and urine mercury levels of several children who have swallowed mercury by mistake, and there was only a slight increase, indicating that not much was absorbed to cause poisoning! However, because mercury is corrosive and has a high specific gravity, several points need to be noted: 1. If the child has inflammation of the digestive tract, or ulcers, it may cause some corrosion of the local mucosa, aggravating inflammation, and also lead to increased absorption of mercury; 2, when there is an ulcer in the stomach, if more mercury is accidentally swallowed, it may also cause perforation; 3, if the child is fasting, mercury to the stomach, will also lead to increased absorption because of the effect of stomach acid; 4, there is mercury in the digestive tract with food forward movement, but there must There will be a small amount of mercury, in the movement to the appendix, fall into the appendix inside, it is difficult to discharge in a short time, but the amount of mercury into the appendix is usually not a lot. Once the child bites the thermometer, the correct treatment: 1, immediately let the child face down, spit out the mercury in the mouth, or use your fingers into the child’s mouth to help clean up the residual mercury and glass fragments; 2, give the child some milk, can play a role in protecting the gastric mucosa; 3, the first half hour, appropriate to maintain the right side of the body can let the mercury from the stomach to the duodenum as soon as possible, reducing the time in the stomach, reducing the role of stomach acid is absorbed. 4, you can eat more fiber-rich food, such as leeks, celery, green vegetables, etc., to help the mercury and food synchronization forward movement, speed up the speed of discharge; reduce the residence time in the intestine; 5, usually in the accidental swallowing of mercury 3 days, the vast majority of mercury has been discharged from the body, small infants because of the liquid food-based, mercury discharge may be a little slower; 6, for For most children, the mercury in the digestive tract should have basically been expelled by about a week, except for the small amount of mercury that falls into the appendix; 7. There is no need for routine x-rays and as few x-rays as possible. Therefore, accidental swallowing of mercury usually does not cause poisoning, so parents generally do not have to worry too much; if they are really unsure, they can go to the hospital to determine the urinary mercury or blood mercury level; if necessary, if you want to take a film, you only need to take an abdominal orthopantomogram to observe the amount and location of mercury residue; there is no need to take a lateral film. Advice: 1, as far as possible, use electronic thermometers instead of mercury thermometers to take the child’s temperature; 2, regardless of the use of oral, axillary or anal tables, as long as the mercury thermometer, there is a risk of accidents, parents are advised that if the mercury thermometer is used to take the child’s temperature, within 3-5 minutes of taking the temperature, parents should stop the work in hand and focus on the thermometer, only until the thermometer is removed, I have seen too many cases of accidental injuries caused by thermometers.