AI Article Synopsis
- Occupational and environmental health nurses educate workers and the public about the dangers of environmental contaminants like methylmercury, primarily found in contaminated fish and seafood.
- Methylmercury poses significant risks to the central nervous system, potentially leading to psychiatric issues, ataxia, neuropathy, and sensory losses, especially in vulnerable groups like fetuses, infants, and young children.
- The article aims to equip health professionals with knowledge about the causes and consequences of methylmercury exposure, enabling them to better inform and protect women of childbearing age and children.
Article Abstract
As frontline clinicians, occupational and environmental health nurses play an important role in educating workers and the public about the dangers and toxic effects of environmental contaminants. One of these contaminants is methylmercury, which enters the body through the consumption of contaminated fish and seafood. Methylmercury affects the central nervous system where it may cause psychiatric disturbances, ataxia, neuropathy, and visual and hearing loss. Because their central nervous systems are rapidly developing, the most vulnerable subgroups are infants in utero, babies, and young children. Pregnant women and nursing mothers can directly expose their infants because methylmercury passes through the placenta to the infant and is also present in breast milk. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview for occupational and environmental health nurses and other health care practitioners about the causes and consequences of methylmercury exposure in women of childbearing age and children so that they can better educate workers about this environmental contaminant.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2165079916664102 | DOI Listing |
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