🌿 Folk Prescriptions

A patient presented with headache, dizziness, fever, and swollen gums for over ten days. The patient was an electric welder. Two weeks prior, he had used gas welding to cut an acetaldehyde condenser. After working one day, he developed headache, dizziness, fatigue, dry throat, and nausea, then visited a nearby hospital. Diagnosed with a cold, he received antipyretic and analgesic treatment. After several days, symptoms did not improve but worsened, with new onset of fever, gum bleeding, insomnia, constipation, and joint pain. Despite visiting multiple hospitals, he continued receiving cold treatments, and his condition deteriorated. Later, guided by someone, he came to our occupational disease department. Upon detailed history-taking, it was revealed he had used a gas welding machine to cut an acetaldehyde condenser containing mercury, with mercury leakage during the process. Based on this, doctors suspected mercury poisoning and urgently tested urine mercury levels, which were over 40 times the normal value. He was diagnosed with acute mercury poisoning. After chelation therapy and symptomatic supportive treatment, he recovered and was discharged after 20 days of hospitalization. Mercury, also known as quicksilver, is a silvery-white liquid that evaporates at room temperature. Mercury vapor easily adheres to walls, floors, and tables, forming secondary emission sources. Mercury poisoning primarily presents with headache, dizziness, stomatitis, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, lumbar pain, and edema. Acute mercury poisoning usually results from short-term inhalation of large amounts of mercury vapor. Because general hospitals rarely encounter occupational poisoning patients, and early symptoms of acute mercury poisoning closely resemble those of a cold, coupled with inadequate medical history inquiry, misdiagnosis is common. Therefore, medical professionals should emphasize detailed history-taking and continuous professional education to avoid misdiagnosis, thus sparing patients unnecessary physical and mental suffering and financial burden. Meanwhile, workers exposed to toxic substances should learn protective knowledge. If any poisoning symptoms appear, they should immediately seek specialized occupational disease hospitals and proactively inform doctors about toxic substance exposure to aid accurate diagnosis and timely treatment, preventing delays and missed opportunities.
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