I have recently cared for two white men in their 60′s to 70′s in I.C.U. who
have had very sudden onset of symptomology. Their courses were similar in that
they were approximately the same age, race, and both had very noncompliant
pulmonary systems. Their ventilatory pressures were in the 45cm range.
TV=1000cc, FiO2=100%, IMV=24, and PEEP=6cm. Their SaO2 was about 72% on these
settings. Regardless of the amount of suctioning, repositioning, or sloshing of
these patients, I could not get their ABG’s much better than a pCO2=64 and a
pO2=58. {Another interesting thing about these men was that they could not be
sedated for very long at a time. They both required frequent high doses of
vercuronin, morphine and diazepam with an increase in frequency as they
approached the end of the course of their disease process. Incidentally, they
both had the same physicians, and their open lung biopsies showed only "acute
diffuse pneumonitis with thrombi."
If anyone has had similar cases, please forward a message on this echo
conference. Negative hx of cotton mills or gins, coal mines, fungal infections,
or gases. The first gentleman was a lawyer who liked to garden and the other
was a farmer. If they could have been exposed to the same pesticides I could
draw a parallel, but the lists given to the M.D.’s had nothing in common. The
autopsy reports were negative.
–
Uucp: …{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!375!12!Ernest.Parker
Internet: Ernest.Par…@f12.n375.z1.fidonet.org
Someone asked about the hazards of playing with mercury. While the metal
ion is as toxic as any heavy metal ion, I don’t believe the liquid metal
is nasty unless inhaled chronically for a long time.
When elemental mercury is released into the environ, bacteria convert
it to organometallic compounds and then it enters the food chain. You
could drink liquid mercury and excrete it unchanged later, safely.
Your body does not interact with the unionized meta. That’s why you
can have an almagam in the entrance to your gastrointestinal tract for years…
However, if an expert can correct me, I’d appreciate it. But the
slop being passed for fact in prior replies to the original query should be
considered typical of usenet noise…programmers’ uninformed spew…
–
David A. Honig
"An unarmed citizenry are subjects."
In article <25CD07B8.5…@paris.ics.uci.edu> ho…@ics.uci.edu (David A. Honig) writes:
#Someone asked about the hazards of playing with mercury. While the metal
#ion is as toxic as any heavy metal ion, I don’t believe the liquid metal
#is nasty unless inhaled chronically for a long time.
Correct. The main danger of playing with mercury is that you spill it
and somebody is going to live in the room for the next 50 years and goes
crazy. But the amount in a thermometer is small. The old barometers are
something else.
#When elemental mercury is released into the environ, bacteria convert
#it to organometallic compounds and then it enters the food chain. You
#could drink liquid mercury and excrete it unchanged later, safely.
#Your body does not interact with the unionized meta. That’s why you
#can have an almagam in the entrance to your gastrointestinal tract for years…
Drinking mercury, like a cup of it? That is asking for too much.
Mercury is HEAVY and will slosh and rupture your intestines.
The amalgam in the teeth stays mainly there, and the small bits
you swallow are harmless. Not only are they small, but I remember
something like the amalgamation deactivates the mercury surface, too.
Otherwise you are right. The stomach acid can not attack mercury.
Torkil Hammer