Abstract
Mercury has been described as been in daily household items such as soaps, skin-lightening creams (SLC), and topical disinfectants. Mercury exposure can reportedly cause damage to the optic nerve and retina. A 30-year-old Somali woman presented with decreased vision and was found to have bilateral optic atrophy. Neuroimaging and laboratory work-up for nutritional deficiencies, heavy metals, and syphilis were performed. Evaluation revealed normal neuroimaging and laboratory work-up except for elevated serum and urine mercury levels. Mercury levels at the initial blood test was 11.1 ug/L (normal limits < 10.0 ug/L) and was 15.7 ug/L on repeat testing. A 24-h urine test showed elevated mercury at 16 ug/24 h (normal limits < 2 ug/24 h). Evaluation of an unlabelled SLC that she was using showed the presence of mercury. It is worth testing for heavy metals in the work-up of bilateral optic atrophy. Clinicians should consider cosmetic products as a potential source of mercury exposure and recommend discontinuation if mercury is present.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 281-284 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Neuro-Ophthalmology |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 5-6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Keywords
- cosmetic products
- mercury toxicity
- optical coherence tomography
- retinal nerve fibre layer
- Toxic optic neuropathy
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Case Reports