Question

Which statement should the nurse make when providing information to the parent of a preschool-age client who calls the pediatric clinic after dropping a mercury thermometer at home?

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is - "Clean up the spill using paper towels and disposable gloves"

Explanation:

Mercury is a liquid metal and exposure to it can cause serious health problems to child development both in early life and in utero. It can cause toxic effects on the immune system, lungs, skin, eyes, digestive and nervous system.

When a mercury thermometer breaks and the mercury spills, one should never do the following when cleaning;

• Use a vacuum cleaner or broom to clean the mercury, as using vacuum cleaner will expose the mercury to air and the broom will break the mercury into smaller droplets and spread them.
• The mercury should not be poured down the drain as it can cause pollution of the septic tank .

Instead, the area should be cleared of children and clothes and shoes that might spread the mercury, wear plastic gloves and pick the pieces of glass and put on a paper towel. The paper towel should then be folded and put in a zip lock bag. Use cardboard to gather mercury beads into small mercury balls and then make use of a eye dropper to draw up the beads and slowly squeeze into a damp paper towel. Use a a sticky tape to pick up remaining fragments of mercury and put in a plastic bag. Discard the plastic bags, the gloves used and any other materials used in the clean up into a labeled trash bag and place outside for the local health or fire department.

Always keep the area ventilated.

I hope this helps.