ds bitten the top off a mercury thermometer

[shagmundfreud]

.... arghhhhh!

He's 6. He said he spat it out straight away and washed his mouth out.

A&E?

Don't take a broken mercury thermometer to an area with incredibly sick people in it ffs - are you completely stupid?

I wasn't taken to a&e either when I did it as a child, my mum just washed it out of my mouth and that was that oh and she opened all the windows...

If it was bought new in this country from somewhere like Boots in the last 5 years it will not be mercury - it will be alcohol - with colouring in.

Oh and a normal household thermometer contains less than 3g of liquid, so I shouldn't worry....

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/854.aspx?CategoryID=72&SubCategoryID=72

says: What if I break a thermometer or light bulb?
If you break a mercury thermometer or light bulb, some liquid mercury may spill out, but probably very little. Liquid mercury can separate into small beads, which can roll some distance away. You may also be exposed to mercury vapour.

However, this small amount of mercury is extremely unlikely to cause problems for your health.

A and E AND a mercury clean up kit - you don't want mercury in your house.

def a&e and be sure there is no mercury on the floor, if it gets left then over time it can release fumes which are deadly.

we have found the braun digital ear thermometer absolutely fab,easy to use and safe if you're looking for a replacement.

Mumsnet, promoting wasting of NHS resources since 2000.

Do you think the OP will bother to come back and tell us what she decided to do and the outcome?
Or even what colour the contents of the thermometer were?

Dust if I were her I'd be busy checking health of child right now. But I think it's unlikely to actually be mercury given what she's said.

Wasting NHS resources because OP is being advised to take a child to A&E who has swallowed mercury?

Hmmm risk my kids health or take up 10 minutes of a doctors time......its a toughie I admit

PMSL @ Aribura

agree with Aribura
Will not be a mercury thermometer.
He is highly unlikely to have ingested any even if it was.

No mercury. No poisoning. And a lot more than 10 mins of a drs time if you go to a&e.

Unlikely = a small chance

Still wouldnt risk my childs health, but each to their own.

it would take 10 mins for a Doc to say if its ok or not.

The rest of the time would be waiting, at no cost to anyone.

The triage nurse, the person who signs you in, the time you take in a cubicle waiting for a busy doctor, the admin, the discharge papers........these are all free? To you they are, but they still cost.

Triage Nurse - 5 mins while she nods and goes for a Doc
Signing in - 30 secs, unless you like to talk in riddles / charades
Time in a cubicle - didnt realise cubicles charged, how odd
Admin/discharge papers - few mins

I wouldnt think twice about risking my childs health for the sake of a few minutes of NHS time but guess thats just me

OP is being advised by a bunch of people who a) have probably no medical training and b) have no idea if there was mercury in the thermometer. Wait for NHS Direct to call back, then decide what to do.

Going to A&E has a very real impact on healthcare costs. Even a call to NHS Direct costs the NHS ££ and the whole point of it is to stop people going to A&E when they don't need to.

Time in a cubicle while someone else is waiting for one with a real injury. All of things cost time and money.

If your child needs to go, its not wasting time. However if you turned up with a newish broken thermometer shreiking about mercury poisoning, they are going to look at you like and think timewaster.

I find that living in a country where you have to pay for a&e makes you much more circumspect about using and misusing the resources you are so lucky to have.

That must be the first time EVER NHS Direct hasn't advised someone to go to A and E

When I was a child, my parents had a big old barometer with mercury in it hanging on the wall. The back was taped up as the mercury kept falling out. We DCs used to love poking it out and playing with it. It was all slippery and hard to catch. How we laughed. Then one day my mum hoovered it all up as she had heard playing with mercury might not be a good thing. The barometer doesn't work now but still looks nice.

Anyway, my point being: did me no harm.

I remember biting the ends of thermometers too and playing with it too puff

Im going off the OP who says it was a mercury one

Id just rather be safe than sorry (with no 'shrieking' ). No harm in that.

FWIW I, nor any of the kids have ever been to A&E so Im not one of those mothers who goes at the drop of a hat. But if it was for something I had no idea of the implications, or even what the substance was, damn right Id go and 'waste' 10 minutes of NHS time that I have already paid for twelfty times over

That must be some massive taxes you pay then.

OP says it was bought last year, ergo, no mercury.