Mercury and Your Body
Check out how mercury can affect the human body. Click on the different parts of the body to see what can happen when people are poisoned by mercury. How serious these health effects are may vary depending on how much mercury gets into your body — and how long you breathe it in.
Brain & Nervous
System
Mercury may cause damage to the nervous system, especially the brain. Brain damage from mercury poisoning can cause people to have:
Trouble remembering things
Difficulty sleeping
Changes in mood, like feeling cranky, nervous, tired, or shy
Numbness in the hands and feet
Trembling (shaking)
Problems with muscle coordination (tripping, dropping things, falling down)
Ears
Trouble hearing
Eyes
Red eyes
Mouth
Tasting metal
Swollen gums
Drooling
Head
Headache
Throat
Sore throat
Heart
High blood pressure
Fast heart rate
Lungs
Cough
Pain when breathing
Feeling out of breath
Damage to the lungs
Stomach & Intestines
Feeling sick to your stomach
Nausea
Diarrhea
Not feeling hungry
Kidneys
Damage to the kidneys
Damage to the kidneys
Skin
Red, itchy rashes
Peeling hands and feet
Reproductive System
Mercury poisoning is especially dangerous for an unborn baby (fetus)
Body
Fever
Feeling tired
Muscle aches
Key:
Health effect caused by breathing in high levels of mercury vapors (fumes) over a short period of time
Health effect caused by breathing in lower levels of mercury vapors over a long period of time
Page last reviewed: June 22, 2018
Content source: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry