# \[Hypothetical\] You just touched a drop of dimethylmercury **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267 "2013-06-06T02:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/1 "2013-06-06T02:54:06Z")
What do you do? It’s highly toxic and a drop on your skin is fatal. Not instantly, but within half a year, you’re dead. I’d go to the nearest hospital and scream I’ve been poisoned by dimethylmercury, but what can the docs do? What antidote is there? What course of treatment is there? ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/2 "2013-06-06T03:22:46Z")
They’d probably treat you with a chelating agent such as dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), since that is the standard treatment for heavy metal poisoning. Since dimethylmercury takes so long to kill, you might even make it. You’d probably end up in some medical journal either way. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/3 "2013-06-06T03:28:54Z")
Immediate chelation therapy and pray they get as much out as they can before it does permanent damage that I can’t survive, call my lawyer and make sure my will is current, and send a message to my ‘hard drive buddy’ to let them know that I might need anything skeevy wiped off my hard drive. [well actually all my computers would need to be wiped clean, as I would be having them given to various people who need better computers] From what I vaguely remember, one of the issues is that you may not notice your exposure and not know of the exposure until you have neurological deficit symptoms, by which time it is too late. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/4 "2013-06-06T04:02:48Z")
> [@](#): > > The chelator shown to be most effective for treatment of severe organic mercury poisoning is succimer. **Recent data have also suggested that the drug n-Acetylcysteine is an effective antidote for methyl mercury poisoning.** > **[Untitled Document](https://people.uwec.edu/piercech/hg/mercury_tox/treatment.htm)** So I guess it’s either that or spend the rest of your (short) life as a funky looking thermometer. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/5 "2013-06-06T07:55:29Z")
Chop your finger off! Although I’m not really sure how fast it will hit your bloodstream. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/6 "2013-06-06T13:32:09Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > What do you do? > > It’s highly toxic and a drop on your skin is fatal. Not instantly, but within half a year, you’re dead. > > I’d go to the nearest hospital and scream I’ve been poisoned by dimethylmercury, but what can the docs do? What antidote is there? What course of treatment is there? That’s _ **scary** _ shit! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/7 "2013-06-06T13:42:05Z")
There was an earlier thread on this. [Karen Wetterhahn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Wetterhahn)was a known victim of this fate. If it happened to me I don’t think I’d react in a productive manner, but it really wouldn’t matter any more. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/8 "2013-06-06T16:20:31Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > That’s _ **scary** _ shit! :eek: Oh, yeah. Zips right through neoprene and rubber like they’re not even there, which property wasn’t even _discovered_ until the aforementioned Karen Wetterhahn accident! ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-you-just-touched-a-drop-of-dimethylmercury/660267/9 "2013-06-06T17:10:42Z")
\Dimethyl mercury? You mean my mouthwash?\