Health officials in Sacramento say dozens of skin creams from Mexico have been seized recently and all of them have tested positive for mercury. The report details the case of a 47-year-old Mexican-American woman in Sacramento, California, who saw a doctor in July 2019 because she was in pain and felt weak. organic mercury found in fish and shellfish, applying the creams to her face twice daily, how dangerous some topical skincare products can be, nicotine patches placed on the skin are effective, FDA has outlawed drugs and cosmetics that contain mercury, Your sheet mask addiction is bad for the planet, and probably isn't doing anything for your skin, You can now wash your hair with beer shampoo, and dermatologists have mixed reviews, Dr. Pimple Popper's favorite acne to treat is a special kind of blackhead. Words like "mercurous chloride," "calomel," "mercuric," "mercurio," or "mercury" on an ingredient label signify there's mercury in it, so a person should stop using it immediately, the FDA said on its website. Certain skin creams bought in Mexico may contain mercury. During September 1995-May 1996, the Texas Department of Health (TDH), the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDH), and the San Diego County (California) Health Department investigated three cases of mercury poisoning associated with the use of a mercury-containing beauty cream … After calling poison control, doctors gave the woman a feeding tube with medicine for treating her condition and interviewed her family, who told them the woman had a history of using skin-lightening creams she bought from Mexico. According to Blanc, mercury is another one of those substances that the skin absorbs. The mercury was not added by the Pond's manufacturer, but by a third party after purchase. Killer cosmetics — Woman had 524x the normal level of mercury in her blood from skin cream use A new case report on the July poisoning highlights just how toxic organic mercury is. Inorganic mercury poisoning following the use of skin-lightening creams has been reported from Africa, Europe, USA, Mexico, Australia and Hong Kong. Mercury is a metal that is poisonous to humans in any form. It can cause serious health problems, even hospitalizations, for California residents and their families. Nephrotic syndrome (mainly due to minimal change or membranous nephropathy) and neurotoxicity were the most common presenting features. "Most harmful skin-lightening creams are intentionally tainted with inorganic mercury. Subscribe to our daily newsletter to get more of it. If the FDA is recommending against it, then it’s clear that it is a problem. Poisoning can occur through ingestion, injection and absorption through the skin. Charley Gallay/Getty Images. It’s not just your skin creams … A woman's skin-lightening face cream put her in a coma because it was contaminated with mercury, according to a new report published today by the CDC. She had been applying the creams to her face twice daily for the past seven years, according to the report. Mercury is a toxic chemical. The woman's case underscores how dangerous some topical skincare products can be because certain ingredients can enter the body through the skin, rather than just sit on top of it. Using a mercury-tainted skin-lightening cream obtained in Mexico left a California woman unable to speak or care for herself, according to a CDC report. According to the CDPH, reasons for using the skin-lightening creams included fading freckles … Update: Mercury Poisoning Associated with Beauty Cream -- Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, 1996 . Taking immediate action is important because the brain-damaging effects of mercury poisoning can be permanent and lead to further health problems in the future. Mercury can really get under your skin, literally, into your blood stream and other parts of your body. Mercury is dangerous and may cause health problems. Looking for smart ways to get more from life? Mercury in cosmetics is particularly worrisome because the skin is extremely efficient at absorbing the chemical, Lipman says. Mercury is found in some skin creams made outside the United States. It is illegal to sell skin cream products in the USA with 1 ppm or more of mercury. Several other states, including Minnesota and Maryland, have issued similar warnings after recent cases of mercury poisoning from skin creams were reported, as well. Previously, health risks have been associated with skin creams contaminated with inorganic mercury at far higher levels of up to 200 000 ppm. The cream contained a form of organic mercury called methylmercury. The cream she'd most recently used was tested and found to contain mercury. According to Blanc, they may not even be aware of their surroundings depending on how severe the poisoning is. since. A California woman is now in a coma after suffering mercury poisoning from using a Pond’s-labeled skin cream that was imported from Mexico. Account active A woman from Sacramento is now in what is being described as a “semi-comatose state” after experiencing a severe reaction to skin cream that was tainted with mercury. Two weeks later, her condition had only gotten worse and she'd also begun having blurry vision and trouble balancing to walk. Mercury poisoning symptoms include tingling in the hands, feet, or mouth, dizziness, memory problems, and irritability. The cream contained a form of organic mercury called methylmercury. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBSNewYork) – Health officials are urging Americans to check their medicine cabinets – warning that you may be using tainted and poisonous skin cream. “She had mentioned just numbing in her lips and numbing in her mouth. ©2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Health officials in Sacramento say dozens of skin creams from Mexico have been seized recently and all of them have tested positive for mercury. But further testing of the woman’s cream detected methyl mercury iodide, an organic mercury compound far more toxic than inorganic mercury, the authors wrote. "The problem with organic mercury compounds [like methylmercury] is they go straight to the brain," Blanc said. Mercury-tainted skin cream leaves woman in a coma for weeks. Nicotine is one of those substances, for example, which explains why nicotine patches placed on the skin are effective for people who are trying to wean or quit their smoking habits. Mercury is added to these creams by third parties, not the commercial manufacturer, and promoted for skin lightening, and fading wrinkles, freckles, and age spots. Products that list "mercurous chloride," "calomel," "mercuric," "mercurio," or "mercury" among their ingredients -- or that don't list ingredients in English, or at … Even mercury alone can be dangerous. And if there's no ingredient label on the product, that's also a red flag to halt use. This is the first known case of methylmercury poisoning in the United States in nearly 50 years. Consumers should avoid skin lighteners, "anti-aging" creams, and other cosmetics that may contain toxic levels of mercury, the FDA advised in an alert issued recently. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) investigated participants who had elevated blood mercury level results in a health study in 2010, and identified unlabeled skin-lightening creams to be the likely source of exposure. Health Alert: Mercury poisoning linked to use of skin-lightening or acne creams from Mexico (5 pages) Poisoning cases have included several children and babies who did not use the skin creams themselves but were exposed to mercury through contact with family members who used the products. The victim’s son says … Mercury in creams can poison the … In a new installment of the CDC's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report," a 47-year-old woman from Sacramento, California, acquired mercury poisoning from skin-lightening cream bought in Mexico. The case underscores how dangerous some topical skincare products can be because certain ingredients can enter the body through the skin, rather than just sit on top of it. To find out if dangerous products are sold in California, CDPH tested over 100 imported skin-lightening creams and … A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. One common product containing mercury is skin care. Mercury poisoning from skin cream - Kuehn B. These creams are used to lighten age spots or get rid of wrinkles, freckles, acne, or other blemishes. Common Symptoms of Mercury Poisoning • … "This may not be the last case we see, unfortunately," Blanc said. A California woman has been left semi-comatose after using a skin cream from Mexico contaminated with mercury.. CDPH's Food and Drug Laboratory … Skin-lightening creams imported from Mexico often contain mercury, which bleaches the skin, but not the extremely toxic compound. This type of cream is used by consumers as a skin lightener and to remove spots and wrinkles. She was admitted to the hospital and health officials began to investigate the source of the mercury poisoning. Now, despite ongoing treatment for the poisoning, the woman "remains unable to verbalize or care for herself, requiring ongoing tube feeding for nutritional support," the study authors wrote. "We're concerned about any mercury contamination, but this study ups the ante," Blanc said, adding that people of color, especially women of color, are particularly vulnerable populations for this type of poisoning because of "the false belief that having lighter skin is advantageous. Mercury is dangerous. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has identified m ercury in unregulated skin cream from Mexico used by several residents. Mercury Poisoning From Commercial/Store-Bought Skin Creams. If you use imported skin cream from Mexico, authorities urge you to stop immediately and bring it to your doctor for testing. Like what you see here? A 47-year-old California woman has been in a semi-comatose state for weeks after using a Ponds-labeled skin cream tainted with methylmercury. A California woman is now in a coma after suffering mercury poisoning from using a Pond’s-labeled skin cream that was imported from Mexico. This is the first known case of methylmercury poisoning … After all, the FDA doesn’t ban the use of formaldehyde in skin care products. Study co-author Dr. Paul Blanc, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Insider that while poisoning from inorganic mercury in skin products is fairly common, poisoning from the organic form of mercury, methylmercury, is far less common but much more toxic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently sent out a warning to consumers to beware of getting mercury poisoning from skincare products. The victim’s son says symptoms started very slowly. If you experience any of these conditions, call your poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Check the Antiseptic Soaps and Lotions. The report details the case of a 47-year-old Mexican-American woman in Sacramento, California, who saw a doctor in July 2019 because she was in pain … A woman's skin-lightening face cream put her in a coma because it was contaminated with mercury, according to a new report published today by the CDC. According to the FDA, mercury-containing skin products often promise skin-lightening or anti-aging benefits, or claim to remove a person's freckles or blemishes. It has been found in face creams used to lighten or bleach skin, treat acne, and fade age spots, blemishes, or freckles. Subscriber People have used mercury for centuries in different medications and consumer products. At that point, she was hospitalized, the study authors said, but it wasn't until she started to become delirious that they performed urine and blood tests and found "abnormally high" levels of methylmercury, a form of organic mercury found in fish and shellfish, in her blood. ", The FDA has outlawed drugs and cosmetics that contain mercury, but these products are still being sold illegally online and elsewhere. She had a lot of fatigue, very tired all the time, just wanting to be in bed.”. It’s a skin whitening cream from Mexico that contains mercury according to lab tests. The woman used skin-lightening creams she bought from Mexico twice daily for seven years. The FDA has outlawed drugs and cosmetics that contain mercury, but these products are still being sold illegally online and in other countries where it's less regulated. The US Food and Drug Administration has outlawed all consumer products that contain mercury, but these products are still being sold illegally online and in other countries. High levels of mercury can affect the brain, nervous system and kidneys, at times causing permanent damage and even death. As a result, a person can lose control over their motor functions and be unable to do daily activities like walking, eating, and talking. 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