Typically, when individuals hear about “Mercury” they think of the planet or the element on the periodic table. Although that may be true, mercury is also found in other things.

“According to the NIEHS, mercury is a naturally occurring metal that is toxic to living organisms.” Mercury is also known as quicksilver and has three types, elemental, organic and inorganic. Each of these variations of mercury plays a role in making an individual very sick.

When eating sushi or other types of raw fish, consumers can develop organic mercury poisoning. In order for mercury to get into the fish, the fish would have to consume methylmercury, which is a type of organic mercury. The organic mercury differs from inorganic and elemental since the mercury is combined with carbon. Symptoms for organic mercury include after eating, breathing, or placement on the skin for a longer duration (for example, every day). An individual may be affected if they get seizures, have memory issues, and feel sensations of numbness in their skin.

In this video below, it shows how mercury affects the brain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, inorganic mercury is formed when mercury is able to combine with other elements (sulfur or oxygen) to make different compounds or salts. A person can find inorganic mercury in a chemistry lab as well as in batteries. The symptoms for this include having a burning sensation in your stomach (when mercury is consumed) as well as having blood in your stool.

That being said, elemental mercury differentiates from organic and inorganic mercury because it has no effect on the individual when the person inhales mercury in any way. The symptoms for this include vomiting, having a hard time breathing regularly, a metallic aftertaste in the mouth, and having swollen or bleeding gums. Thus, this can occur if absorbed into the air and breathed into the lungs.

In order for mercury to be treated, the person has to go to the doctors for testing, scans, a supplement of medicine, and other forms of intensive treatment.

In this image below from the Centers for Disease Control, non-Hispanic black pregnant women from the ages 18 to 49 years of age are affected by mercury that went into their bloodstreams in 2003 to 2006.