Pediatrician Sergey Butinee regularly publishes topical texts about the current state of medicine on its pages on social networks. Here, for example, a wonderful post about why a mercury thermometer is a relic of the past, which is not a place in your first aid kit.
Dear mothers and dads, especially grandmothers - fanatically adore mercury thermal devices. I just begging you - well, you will finally throw them away, and buy normal electronic or infrared thermometers! Forces, after all, no longer. Another broken thermometer and the question "Sa, what to fit?" inspired.
Mercury thermometers are constantly fighting, and this
- Risk of child cuts (and adult)
- Poisoning of mercury couples (which remains in the floor slots, gradually evaporates and then gradually poisoning living in the apartment)
- Ingestion by the child of mercury balls (it's just safely - I will not hurt with the feces, but by stupidity and in a panic parents can stuff a child with a mass of drugs, to undergo its surveys and other inconveniences).
Moreover
* Mercury thermometers are measured for a very long time, the child is difficult to persuade to sit for a few minutes in a row - he is held by force, and this is not the necessary torment and grieving; * Mercury thermometers fight not only by chance, but also "specially" - a glass tip is easy to spryy and swallow the baby, And this is extremely dangerous and will require emergency hospitalization; * non-mercury with mercury thermometers do not only children, but adults - for example, I saw a broken tip of a mercury thermometer in anus of a baby who had to extract to children's surgeons - this mom "stimulated the chair", using a thermometer instead of a gas feed tube; * Mercury toxic and it is impossible to simply throw it into the garbage - it needs to be disposed of into special containers, such as luminescent lamps, for example. Answer honestly to the question: Do you know where is the nearest such container? And at least one such container in your city?
Well, why do you need all these difficulties? Glass degrees are a terrible archaism, get rid of them in your home and never buy again.
In the photo - three of my thermometers, which I have enough completely. Two infrared (measurement time 5 seconds) and one electronic (measurement time is 1 minute). The cost of 200 p (electronic) to 1400 p (curved infrared). They work perfectly, serve for years and stand their money.
The main argument of the sect of the divine mercury hydraulic is very accurate. Yes, all electronic thermometers give an error of 0.3-0.5 degrees. But open me a terrible secret - why do you need more precisely? To me, the doctor - and more accurately not necessary. What will be fundamentally changed in tactics if the child does not turn out to be 38.2 A 38.7? We still give the antipyretic only if the child is strongly concerned about malaise and chills, and do not give if it normally transfers fever.
In addition, the main reason for the error of IR thermometers is that you forget to wipe the sensor with alcohol napkins and change the batteries on time. If this is not forgotten - the errors are noticeably less.
XXI century in the yard, let's give out obsolete and dangerous methods in medicine.
What if the thermometer still crashed?
First, you do not need to panic
Cold mercury is practically not dangerous. You can easily lick it from the floor, then a few hours later go to the toilet and nothing will happen to anyone with your intestines.
As you know, in the Middle Ages - up to late Middle Ages - alchemists ate mercury in large quantities. And since the alchemists had medical qualifications in the Middle Ages, they prescribed mercury from constipation. This is not something comical: mercury is heavy, it is all pushing in the intestines.
Mercury toxicity is very low. Everyone immediately starts to run around the apartment, call 20 demurcurization services - but it is not necessary to do anything. You need to see exactly where you broke the mercury. If this is some kind of smooth flat surface, it is the perfect option. You take a sheet of paper and roll mercury balls in one place. If you wear rubber or latex gloves, you can collect balls and gloves.
Mercury has a wonderful property of adhesion: mercury balls are perfectly sticking together with each other. Children love to play with mercury: Because you can separate the puddles, then connect back and it's all very fun. Bened mercury into a large puddle, you need to transfer it to a glass vessel, only necessarily from dense glass: if it is thin, it can break through it, it is very heavy. After that, you need to open the window, go through the broom gently and very slowly and calm down. Do not call anyone.
Now - what you do not need to do
In no case do not need to collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner. Unlike cold mercury, hot or evaporated mercury is dangerous. It hits the mucous membrane and becomes toxic. The vacuum cleaner excellent turns liquid mercury into dangerous mercury pairs. What else? You do not need to drive mercury on such a surface where it can boot into the gap. Because of the large surface tension, it will turn into very small balls that will evaporate very slowly for many months. Try not to break mercury on the floor, on the carpet or in the kitchen, and if they smashed next to the hot kettle, open the windows wide, go out of the apartment and call the demurcurization service.
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Source 2.
Pictures: shutterstock