Clinical Briefs
With Comments from John La Puma, MD, FACP
Mercury Poisoning from Mexican Beauty Cream
November 2000; Volume 3; 131-132
Source: Weldon MM, et al. Mercury poisoning associated with a Mexican beauty cream. West J Med 2000;173:15-18.
The study had two aims: (1) to describe demographic characteristics, patterns of use, and symptoms associated with mercury poisoning among persons who used a Mexican beauty cream containing mercurous chloride and (2) to estimate the prevalence of cream use in Texas near the Mexico border. We designed a case series and cross-sectional survey in border communities of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. We studied those persons who had used the cream and contacted a health department in response to announcements about the cream. These persons participated in the Survey of Health and Environmental Conditions in Texas Border Counties and Colonias, 1997. We assessed urine mercury concentrations, self-reported symptoms, and prevalence of cream use among households and the persons within them. Of 330 cream users who contacted their health department, 96% were women, and 95% were Hispanic. The mean urine mercury concentration was 146.7 µg/l (median 79 µg/l; reference range: 0-20 µg/l). Eighty-four percent had concentrations of greater than 20 µg/l. In 5% of 2,194 randomly selected Texas households near the Mexico border, at least one person had used "Crema de Belleza-Manning" (Laboratorios Vida Natural, S.A., Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico) in the previous year. We conclude that most cream users had increased urine mercury concentrations. Cream use was common in Texas near the Mexico border. Physicians should consider toxicity in patients with neurologic symptoms of unclear cause and use public health departments when investigating unusual illnesses.
COMMENT
Beauty always has a price, and many men are willing to pay it. But it is immoral that women should have to pay it with their nervous systems.
Substantially banned by the FDA in over-the-counter (OTC) topical salves for decades, mercury is toxic. Symptoms of fatigue, nervousness/irritability, severe headaches, insomnia, tingling, burning, and tremors were elicited in well over one-third of women who responded to public notices and were tested for mercury. No control, comparison group, or systematic physical examination was recorded.
Most of these women used the cream two to three times daily, primarily as a skin lightener, but also as acne treatment and a moisturizer. Nearly 80% had purchased the cream in Mexico. Median use was 4.0 years.
Mercury-containing creams and lotions are available in Hispanic communities throughout the United States, usually in flea markets or herb shops, as in this study. Asian communities, with herbalists and markets that stock Chinese patent medicines, also commonly offer OTC mercury-containing potions, salves, and pills.
Recommendation
Unusual neurologic or cognitive symptoms in women with skin concerns should bring to mind mercury intoxication. Ask women to bring in face and beauty creams and send them to the lab for analysis, after measuring the patient’s mercury levels.
November 2000; Volume 3; 131-132
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