Adults using certain folk medicines or participating in certain religious or ethnic practices may also expose themselves and their families to metallic mercury's effects. Because metallic mercury vaporizes into the air at room temperatures, it presents an immediate health risk to anyone spending a significant amount of time in a room where metallic mercury is sprinkled or spilled onto the floor, or where opened containers of metallic mercury are present. At high levels, metallic mercury can cause effects on the nervous system and the developing fetus. Other forms of mercury can damage other organs. Even at low levels, metallic mercury can cause health problems.
Mercury exposure can begin to cause harm before symptoms arise.
Once symptoms do arise, health problems related to metallic mercury poisoning can include tremors, changes in vision or hearing, insomnia, weakness, difficulty with memory, headache, irritability, shyness and nervousness, and a health condition called acrodynia. Pregnant women and their fetuses are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of metallic mercury because it readily passes from the placenta to the fetus. Mercury may accumulate in higher concentrations in the unborn baby than in the mother. Young children, who often play on the floor where metallic mercury may have been spilled, are particularly at risk for effects on the central nervous system. Mercury vapors are readily absorbed into the bloodstream from the lungs, and the human central nervous system, which is still developing during the first few years of life, may become damaged.