In early September my two sons broke a mercury theremometer as I had my nose in a childcare book about how to take a non-oral temperature!! I am unsure whether it broke on the floor or in one of their mouths, however mercury ended up in the surrounding area, on my bed and on the floor. They didn't show any signs of having broken it in their mouths. I immediately mopped it up and washed their hands (it was very difficult to get off from the mattress). I then rang my GP who assured me it was at non toxic levels in thermometers. However, in the following weeks my boys (both 2 3/4 yrs)had a succession of colds and coughs after having hardly any colds in the first 2 3/4 yrs of life and I too also suffered from one cold after another, an extreme bout of flu, sinusitus and a chest infection. I am also now suffering from a my sixth sore throat in three months. (I had previously been in good health and very rarely caught even a cold!) One of my sons has now developed a croupy cough and a recurrent sore eye. I have revisted my GP and expressed my concerns but she has said that it is just down to them starting playschool. I am happy to beleive that, and have searched the internet for any other information pertaining to my concerns, without joy. I would appreciate it if someone could someone give me a homeopathic point of view. Does anyone have any info on mercury thermometers and spillage? i.e. could having it in my mattress be harmful - is it damaging to the immune system? If this could be a problem, could anyone prescribe an antidote? I would also welcome any comments from mothers who have had the same problem when their kids started playschool!!! I am alredy taking extra Vit C and echnicea without effect!! Thanks for your interest!

If you could give us a good description of the symptoms of the colds and sore throats we could possibly tell you if the mercury was related. Especially describe the appearance of your tonsils during the sore throat if you can.

Also, if it is mercury related, homeopathy is just the place to look for help!

[ 18 December 2001: Message edited by: Kescah ]</p>

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Kescah

Please don't take Echinacea for longer than a couple of weeks (at most). It can do the opposite of what you are trying to achieve - which is to boost the immune system - and actually end up compromising the immune system, doing harm.

And YES, Homeopathy can most definitely help. If you are in UK - then you should be able to locate a practitioner near you. I believe there is a Homeopathic Hospital in Bristol - perhaps if you call there you could ask for a referral. I suggest this because it is always better to see someone in person, if possible.

All the best,
Lisa

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"The significance of a fact is measured by the capacity of the observer."
Carroll Dunham

On the other hand - if the children are just starting preschool it is likely that the illnesses are from that. I myself had fairly good health until my eldest started preschool and then we were all CONSTANTLY ill. She is now in Kindergarten and although she gets sick a little less I am still constantly ill.

Whatever the reason - homeopathy can help! If you and the kids need Mertc to be antidoted then that will be fairly easy to do. If you all just need a good constitutional remedy to build your immune systems then a very detailed case should be taken, preferrably in person.

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Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals. For they are without sin and you in your greatness defile the earth by your appearance on it and leave traces of you foulness after you. Dostoyevsky

I can echo what Barb said. I was constantly ill when my daughter started preschool! I was never so sick, so often, in my entire life!

If mercury is causing your colds, keep in mind that the tell-tale signs of mercury are: excessive sweating, chills, bad breath and excessive salivation or drooling, sensitive to heat and cold, worse at night, and thirst for cold drinks.

I broke a thermometer myself not too long ago, and I also worried that I might be poisoning myself just by cleaning it up, but, absolutely nothing came of it.

Snoopy

Good that you cleaned up. The mercury does evaporate into the air, and might be absorbed through the lungs. That is why there still is a problem with the matrace.
In homeopathy there are many antidotes to mercury; which to choose, depends on the symptoms.

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SHOSHY

Thanks for your replies, I was comforted to hear that other parents have experienced the same thing! With regard to the cold/cough syptoms - I would say they are constantly changing, coming and going. The boys seem to be fighting them off much more quickly now, although they have residual coughs on and off. Every couple of weeks I tend to go down with a sore throat and chesty feeling, like its inflammed. The throaty feeling you get before the onset of a heavy cold. I have a cough that is constantly changing depending on the time of day and I feel exhausted like a dead weight. Although some days I feel fine and positive.

Re Echnicea, I have only been taking it a short time and tend to take it for 1 week then stop.

I am thinking seriously about getting Const. treatment, although the cost is putting me off!

Cheers

As a chemistry teacher in my other life (!!) if mercury is spilt the correct thing to do is to cover with powdered ("flowers of") Sulphur as this will stop the fumes and form an inert compound.The correct way to remove the globules is to use a pipette to draw up the mercury.

When I was a kid we used to play with mercury in the classroom and mercury used to be exposed in barometers. It is an accumulative poison. Considering how much I have been exposed to it has never done me any harm. I still have a full head of hair and my skin is not grey. However one does have to be susceptible to be harmed by it.

Don't worry excessively!!

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RSHom - Registered Homeopath

Hi,

Hahnemann used homoeopathic Sulphur to antidote the effects of crude mercury poisonings which was a common treatment by allopaths of his day.