If you broke a thermometer - what to do at home?

Each house has such a thing as a thermometer, but not every citizen knows what needs to be done if a thermometer is broken. The most important thing is not to panic. A broken thermometer is not a disaster that cannot be eliminated. We will tell further about how broken a thermometer is and what needs to be done if it is broken.

Mercury thermometer: a well-known medical device that is dangerous

If you broke a thermometer - what to do at home?

Thermometer is a medical item in the pointed part of which is mercury. Dangerous pairs are those released when breaking a thermometer. The respiratory system is particularly affected by them.

Remember that if all balls of mercury are not removed on time from the premises, this will lead to their prolonged exposure to the human respiratory system.

A broken thermometer is dangerous because the balls flowing out of it have high mobility and invisibly roll into a gap in the far corner of the room. Because of this, they become invisible and difficult to extract. Forgotten mercury balls significantly spoil the air in the room. When the temperature in the room reaches 18 degrees, they actively evaporate. Such pairs negatively affect all vital systems of the body, especially the respiratory.

If the balls were scattered in large quantities, then at high temperature such vapors are able to penetrate through:

• skin
• mucous membrane
• gums;
• the kidneys.

All this negatively affects the central nervous system.

Many citizens believe that breaking a thermometer is not scary, as many believe. Otherwise, it would not be sold in all drugstores. Doctors agree with this opinion, since mercury in a thermometer does not lead to acute intoxication of the body, but can dramatically worsen a person’s health.

Safety Rules When Using a Mercury Thermometer

To prevent the thermometer from falling and mercury balls spreading around the room, each person should be well aware of how to properly use this item:

1. If a person measures body temperature, then the room should be no more than 18-25 degrees. If the room is cool, then before using the thermometer should be warmed with your palms.
   

   Gray mercury thermometer in hands

2. Before installing the thermometer, it is recommended to wipe the armpit with a dry cloth.
3. Shake before use. It should show a temperature of 35.5 degrees.
   

   Be sure to shake before use.

4. In a correctly installed thermometer, the tip with mercury should rest on all sides of the human body.
5. The armpit should be completely closed and fit to the body all the time the thermometer is.
6. If a person just came from the street, went in for sports, took a bath, then the use of a thermometer should be abandoned.
7. Remember that with severe stress or nervous disorders, a person always has an elevated body temperature. Therefore, he needs to wait half an hour and only then measure his body temperature. These half an hour should sit in a quiet, calm environment. Also, if a person ate heavily, then the body temperature will be elevated.
8. When measuring body temperature, a person should not make any movements. Also, he should not talk or eat. He should sit quietly for a while.
9. Temperature is measured from 8 to 10 minutes.

Remember that if a person is sick, then body temperature is measured 2-3 times a day. It is advisable to install a thermometer at the same time. Also, if he is tormented by severe fever, and he drinks antipyretic drugs, then you can measure body temperature before taking the medication and 40-50 minutes after taking it.

Remember that if the measuring device is used by several family members, then each time it needs to be wiped with an antiseptic, then with a soft towel until dry and then put into the case.

Also, the temperature is measured by the oral method. During the procedure, the patient is not recommended to move his teeth. Otherwise, he will have many fragments and mercury balls in his mouth.

How to measure body temperature by oral means:

Oral body temperature measurement

1. The measuring device is wiped with warm water and an antiseptic. As an antiseptic, Miramistin, Chlorhexidine is used.
2. Before use, the thermometer must be shaken and brought to 25.5 degrees.
3. Place the device in the mouth under the tongue, close lips tightly. It is not recommended to clamp it with teeth.
4. The thermometer is kept in the oral cavity for about 5 minutes.

After measurement, it is again wiped with warm water and an antiseptic. Smoking, drinking hot drinks before putting a thermometer is not recommended.

More precisely, body temperature is measured in the intestines.

Most often, body temperature is measured through the anus in young children.

The procedure for the patient should be as follows:

• he lies on his stomach and tries not to move;
• he is injected with a device in the rectum at 2-2.5 cm;
• It takes 6 to 8 minutes to hold the thermometer;
• after the set time, the device should be removed from the rectum.

Remember that in this case, a temperature of 37.3-37.7 degrees is considered normal.

Symptoms of Mercury Poisoning

If a person, following the above precautions, drops a thermometer, then he needs to immediately get acquainted with the symptoms that accompany mercury poisoning. If the balls hit the floor in a small amount, then signs of intoxication may not occur or they may be weakly expressed. Only patient poisoning with mercury vapor, which is released during major accidents, leads to the death of the patient.

Signs of mercury vapor poisoning with a broken thermometer

Frequent headaches are the first sign of mercury vapor poisoning.

It:

• nausea, vomiting;
• severe headaches;
• general weakness, drowsiness, apathy;
• acute abdominal pain;
• diarrhea;
• metallic taste in the mouth.

These signs are characteristic of both adult patients and children. They usually appear 2 hours after what happened. The more time has passed, the worse the patient becomes. To these symptoms is added what a person has:

• body temperature rises sharply,
• blood from the gums appears
• he coughs and often goes to the toilet;
• his sweating intensifies;
• he feels chest pain.

Remember that a person needs 0.1 grams of mercury to develop mild intoxication, and only 2.5 grams is required to develop fatal intoxication.

Doctors also highlight chronic mercury poisoning.

First of all, rashes appear on the hands

It is divided into two types:

• Mercurialism. This inhalation for 2 years or more by a person of dangerous mercury vapor in excess of the permissible norm.
• Micromercurialism. This is a small mercury compound that poisons a person’s life from 5 to 10 years.

With chronic intoxication of the body in a patient:

• the daily routine is violated;
• chronic fatigue, fatigue, irritability, anxiety appear;
• depression develops;
• rashes form throughout the body;
• there is a sensitivity to bright color;
• hair grows sharply in different parts of the body;
• arms and legs swell;
• integuments partially or completely lose their sensitivity;
• taste preferences are violated;
• frequent fainting occurs and sweat exudes excessively.

First aid for mercury poisoning

Currently, doctors have not yet developed a medication that could at home stop the negative effect of mercury vapor on the human body. Therefore, the family members of the patient should, after what happened, help him and call a doctor.

Remember that a patient with signs of intoxication must be hospitalized.

Many patients ask what to do if a mercury thermometer suddenly crashes? At first, the patient's family members should calm down. Then the victim is taken out to the street or transferred to another room.

To neutralize the patient should be given an antidote. As antidotes, traditional medicine is usually used. They are taken when the arrival of doctors has to wait a long time.

But before using them, you should consult a specialist by phone.

The antidote may be:

• Activated carbon;
• raw egg white;
• natural milk.

Mercury thermometer crashed: algorithm of actions and what cannot be done

If a person, after the incident, began to panic, and he forgot about the procedure for action in this situation, then he should dial the Ministry of Emergencies or the sanitary service and follow their recommendations. If a person believes that he can cope with the problem on his own, then he should immediately take action.

How to clean mercury if a thermometer crashes

To remove mercury, it is recommended that you do the following:

1. remove from the premises all people and animals;
2. close the front door to the room;
3. prepare the following accessories:

• solution with soap and soda,
• water with potassium permanganate,
• 3 liter jar with cold water or potassium permanganate,
• 2 sheets of paper;
• medical pear, syringe;
• a brush, a piece of cotton;
• an awl, a knitting needle;
• electrical tape, adhesive tape, patch;
• Lantern.

Wear rubber slippers on your feet or wrap them in plastic bags. Accessories must be discarded after the procedure. Cover your face with a gauze bandage dipped in water. Wear medical gloves on your hands.

It’s important to properly dress the mercury neutralizer

To neutralize mercury, you will need to do the following:

• Moisten a cloth with potassium permanganate and put it at the entrance to the room.
• Close the front door and open the window completely. Do not open windows in all rooms at the same time. Because of this, a draft will appear.
• Raise the thermometer, collect all its parts and carefully put everything inside the jar of liquid.
• After all parts of the thermometer are raised, an adhesive tape is glued to the place of its fall. They quickly tear it off and put it in a jar of liquid.
• Take a flashlight and check the hard-to-reach parts of the room for mercury.
• The remaining mercury balls can be reached with a needle or syringe. After use, put them in a jar.
  

  We remove small mercury balls competently

• If the balls are under the baseboard, it is recommended to remove it and study the area.
• Next, the container with things is covered with a lid.
• Treat the floor with potassium permanganate, and then with a solution of soap and soda.
• Clothing, shoes and gloves are removed and placed in a separate bag. It needs to be tied.
• Then you need to dial the Ministry of Emergencies and find out the address where you want to send the bank and the things used.
• The mouth that neutralizes human mercury is rinsed with a solution of soda. He then takes a contrast shower.

Remember that neutralization is quick.

If a person believes that there are mercury balls in the room, then it is required to call the employees of the station for rehabilitation or the Ministry of Emergencies. They will determine the concentration of mercury vapor in the air.

In addition, you should remember the list of cases that are not recommended when the thermometer is broken in the house:

• Mercury balls, the remaining parts of the medical device and fragments are not recommended to be thrown into the garbage chute, sewer.
• Items placed in a jar of liquid should not be thrown away at the above locations. For disposal special places have been created.
  

  Deliver the bank to a designated place

• A vacuum cleaner or broom is not used to collect mercury balls.
  

  Do not clean mercury balls with various household appliances.

• All items that have been decontaminated are no longer used. Even when they were washed.

Remember that if you drop an alcohol thermometer, the neutralization procedure should be the same. Despite the fact that it is considered less harmful compared to a medical device with mercury.

How much mercury is eroded if the thermometer in the apartment crashes

Within 7 days it is forbidden to enter the room where you dropped the thermometer, to enter people and animals. It needs to be aired, but to prevent the appearance of a draft. The floor and other surfaces should be treated with a soda-soap solution and washed with bleach.

Thus, if a person wants to get the correct information about his body temperature, then he needs to correctly operate the thermometer, insert it correctly and follow special safety recommendations. Also, if a person accidentally broke a thermometer, then you should not try to get rid of the problem yourself. Better to entrust this business to professionals.