Dr. Armand V. DeFelice, Toxins

Toxins - Mercury in Drug and Biologic Products

Another major contributor of mercury toxicity is its use in numerous drug and over-the-counter medications. Numerous drug medications contain various amounts of seven different formulations of mercury related compounds.

As you begin to research the impacts of mercury you will commonly find statements similar to the one below printed in a manner to emphatically warn the reader of various mercury compound toxic impacts.

EXAMPLE OF COMMON MERCURY WARNING LABELS

DANGER! MAY BE FATAL IF SWALLOWED. HARMFUL IF INHALED OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. CAUSES IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. MAY CAUSE ALLERGIC SKIN REACTION. STRONG OXIDIZER. CONTACT WITH OTHER MATERIAL MAY CAUSE FIRE. MERCURY COMPOUNDS AFFECT THE KIDNEYS AND CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.

DANGER! THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS A CHEMICAL(S) KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM.

Common Potential Health Effects Warning Labels

Inhalation: Causes irritation to the respiratory tract. Symptoms include sore throat, coughing, pain, tightness in chest, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath and headache. Pneumonitis may develop. Can be absorbed through inhalation with symptoms to parallel ingestion

Ingestion: Highly Toxic! Average lethal dose for inorganic mercury salts is about 1 gram. May cause burning of the mouth and pharynx, abdominal pain, vomiting, corrosive ulceration, bloody diarrhea. May be followed by a rapid and weak pulse, shallow breathing, paleness, exhaustion, central nervous system problems, tremors and collapse. Delayed death may occur from renal failure.

Skin Contact: Causes irritation. Symptoms include redness and pain. May cause burns. May cause sensitization. Can be absorbed through the skin with symptoms to parallel ingestion.

Eye Contact: Causes irritation and burns to eyes. Symptoms include redness, pain, blurred vision; may cause serious and permanent eye damage.

Chronic Exposure: Chronic exposure through any route can produce central nervous system damage. May cause muscle tremors, personality and behavior changes, memory loss, metallic taste, loosening of the teeth, digestive disorders, skin rashes, brain damage and kidney damage. Can cause skin allergies and accumulate in the body. Repeated skin contact can cause the skin to turn gray in color. Not a known reproductive hazard, but related mercury compounds can damage the developing fetus and decrease fertility in males and females.

Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions: Persons with nervous disorders, or impaired kidney or respiratory function, or a history of allergies or a known sensitization to mercury may be more susceptible to the effects of the substance.

The FDA requires related drug companies to report the mercury compound content of their respective products. The following is a list of these toxic medications.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The information in this list is derived from submissions made by manufacturers⁺ in response to the FDA's call-for-data notices of December 14, 1998 (63 FR 68775), April 29, 1999 (64 FR 23083) and February 3, 2003 (68 FR 5299), the FDA's Drug Registration and Listing System, and other agency sources. Products submitted in response to any of the call-for-data notices are preceded by an asterisk (*). Updates to this information are available directly from the FDA at this link. hThe mercury ingredients are abbreviated as follows:

Abbreviations, formulas, percentages and chemical structure used for various mercury ingredients

Abbreviation	Mercury Ingredient	Formula	¹Assay %	Structure
TM	Thimerosal	C9H9HgNaO2S	49.5%
PMA	Phenylmercuric Acetate	C8H8HgO2	59.57%
PMN	Phenylmercuric Nitrate	C6H5HgNO3	59.05%
MA	Mercuric Acetate	Hg(C2H3O2)2	98.0%
MN	Mercuric Nitrate	Hg(NO3)2·H2O	98.0%
MB	Merbromin (Mercurochrome)	C20H8Br2HgNa2O6	24.0-26.7%
MOY	Mercuric Oxide Yellow	HgO	99.0%
NS	"Mercury compound not stated"	n/a	n/a

¹ Assay percentage may vary between manufacturers

The following list includes nonhomeopathic human and veterinary drug products and human biological products. Homeopathic drug products are not included because of the low amounts of mercury present in the products.

⁺ manufacturers, repackers, relabelers, and distributors

	Manufacturer	Name of Product	Ingredient	%
*	Adventis	Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids Adsorbed	TM	NS
*	Adventis	Influenza Virus Vaccine	TM	NS
*	Adventis	Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Groups A, C, Y and W-135 Combined	TM	NS
*	Adventis	Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	NS
	Akorn Inc.	AK Spore Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.001
	Akorn Inc.	AK Spore HC Ophthalmic Combo Drops	TM	NS
	Akorn Inc.	Fluoracaine Ophthalmic Solution	TM	NS
	Akorn Inc.	AK Spore HC Otic Suspension	TM	NS
*	Alcon Laboratories	Profenal 1% Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.005
*	Alcon Laboratories	Adsorbonac 2% Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.004
*	Alcon Laboratories	Adsorbonac 5% Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.004
	ALK Laboratories Pharmacia	Coccidioidin Vaccine	TM	.01
	Allergan America	Ocufen Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.005
	Allergan America	Poly Pred Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	.001
	Allergan Inc.	Blephamide SOP Ophthalmic Ointment	PMA	.0008
	Allergan Inc.	Bleph-10 Ophthalmic Ointment 10%	PMA	.0008
	Allergan Inc.	FML SOP Ophthalmic Ointment 0.1%	PMA	.0008
	Allergan Inc.	Poly Pred Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	.001
	Altaire Pharmaceuticals	Nasal Relief 12 Hour Spray	PMA	NS
	American Assn. Retired Persons	Oxymetazoline Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	American International Chemical	Thimerosal (bulk chemical)	TM	100
	American International Chemical	Thimerosal (bulk chemical)	TM	100
	American International Chemical	Thimerosal USP 97% (bulk chemical)	TM	97
	American Pharmaceutical	12 Hour Nasal Solution	PMA	NS
	Appletree Markets	Long Lasting Nasal Spray	PMA	NS
*	Bausch & Lomb	Flurbiprofen Sodium Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.005
*	Bausch & Lomb	Neomycin & Polymyxin B Sulfates & Gramicidin Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.001
*	Bausch & Lomb	Neomycin & Polymyxin B Sulfates & Hydrocortisone Otic Suspension	TM	.01
*	Bausch & Lomb	Sulfacetamide Sodium & Prednisolone Sodium Phosphate Ophthalmic Solution 10%/.23%	TM	.01
	Baxter Healthcare Corporation	Immune Globulin Vaccine	TM	.01
*	Berna Products	Tetanus Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
	Bioport Corporation	Tetanus Toxoid Adsorbed	TM	.01
	Bioport Corporation	Rabies Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
	Bioport Corporation	Immune Globulin (Human)	TM	01
	Bioport Corporation	Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
	Bioport Corporation	Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids Adsorbed	TM	.01
	Bioport Corporation	Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids & Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Bristol-Myers Squibb	Fungizone Lotion	TM	.01
*	Bristol-Myers Squibb	Fungizone Cream	TM	.01
	C.O. Truxton Inc.	Bio-Cot Otic Suspension	TM	.01
	C.O. Truxton Inc.	Decongest Nasal Spray	PMA	NS
	Cheshire Pharmaceutical	Otocort Otic Suspension	TM	.01
	Cheshire Pharmaceutical	Ocutricin Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.01
	Cheshire Pharmaceutical	Sulfapred Ophthalmic Solution	TM	NS
*	Connaught Laboratories	Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids & Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Mumps Skin Test Antigen	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Influenza Virus Vaccine, Trivalent, Types A & B	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Tetanus Toxoid for Booster Use Only	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Influenza Virus Vaccine, Trivalent, Types A & B	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine Reconstituted with Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids & Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Tetanus Toxoid Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Diphtheria & Tetanus Toxoids & Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids Adsorbed	TM	.01
*	Connaught Laboratories	Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccine	TM	.007
*	Connaught Laboratories	Diluent for Meningococcal Vaccine Groups	TM	0.1
	CVS	Nasal Spray Pump	PMA	NS
	CVS Revco DS Inc.	12 Hour Decongestant Pump Nasal Spray	PMA	NS
	Dolder Ltd.	Thimerosal (bulk chemical)	TM	100
	Dorex International Corp.	Long Acting Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Drug Guild Distributors	Long Acting Nasal Spray Kolex LA	PMA	.002
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Blephamide Ophthalmic Ointment	PMA	NS
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Cortisporin Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	.001
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Neomycin Polymyxin B Sulfates Hydrocortisone Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	NS
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Neomycin Polymyxin B Hydrocortisone Otic Suspension	TM	.01
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Neomycin Polymyxin B Gramicidin Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.01
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Vasocidin Ophthalmic Solution	TM	NS
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Colymycin S Otic Suspension	TM	.002
	DRX Pharmaceutical	Pediotic Otic Suspension	TM	NS
	Dysers Sal	Thimerosal (bulk chemical)	TM	NS
	Family Independent Pharmacy	12 Hour Nasal Decongestant Spray	PMA	NS
	Family Independent Pharmacy	Long Acting Nasal Spray	PMA	NS
	Farm Fresh Inc.	Hemorrhoid Relief Ointment	PMN	.01
	Fays Drug Services	12 Hour Nasal Spray Pump	PMA	NS
	Federated Foods	Long Acting Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Fleming Companies	12 Hour Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Foxmeyer Drug Co.	Nasal Spray Pump	PMA	NS
	Global Source	Nasin Long Acting Nasal Spray	PMA	NS
	Harco Drug	Mercurochrome Aqueous Solution	MB	2
	Harris-Teeter	Oxymetazoline Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Hi Tech Pharmacal Co.	Long Acting Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Hudson Corp.	Nasal Spray Extended Relief	PMA	NS
	Hurst Pharmaceutical	Duomycin-HC Otic Suspension	TM	.01
	K and B Distributors	Mercurochrome Aqueous Solution	MB	2
*	King Pharmaceuticals	Cortisporin Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	.001
*	King Pharmaceuticals	Neosporin Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	.001
*	King Pharmaceuticals	Viroptic Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.001
	King Pharmaceuticals	Neomycin Polymyxin B Sulfates Hydrocortisone Otic Suspension	TM	NS
*	King Pharmaceuticals	Pediotic Suspension	TM	.001
*	King Pharmaceuticals	Cortisporin Otic Suspension	TM	.01
	Kinray	Oxymetazoline Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Laboratori Derivati	Adrenal Cortex Injection	TM	.01
	Leader	12 Hour Nasal Spray	PMA	NS
	Leader	Nasal Pump Spray	PMA	NS
	Longs Drug Stores	Nasal Spray Pump	PMA	NS
	LS Raw Materials Ltd.	Mercurochrome NF 12 100% (bulk chemical)	MB	100
	Major Pharmaceuticals	Cortomycin Ophthalmic Suspension	TM	NS
	Major Pharmaceuticals	Sulfacetamide Sodium & Prednisolone Sodium Phosphate Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.01
	Major Pharmaceuticals	Cortomycin Otic Suspension	TM	.01
	Major Pharmaceuticals	Neocidin Ophthalmic Solution	TM	.01
	Martin Surgical Supply	Testosterone Injection Suspension 50 mg	TM	.008
	Martin Surgical Supply	Testosterone Injection Suspension 100 mg	TM	NS
*	Massachusetts Public Health Biologic Labs	Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids Adsorbed For Adult Use	TM	.003
*	Massachusetts Public Health Biologic Labs	Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids Adsorbed	TM	.01
	Mays Drug Stores	Hemorrhoid Relief Ointment	PMN	.01
	Medalist Laboratories	Long Lasting Nasal Spray Pump	PMA	NS
*	Medeva Pharmaceuticals	Influenza Virus Vaccine	TM	.01
*	Merck & Co.	Antivenin (Lactrodectus Mactans)	TM	.01
	Meyers Supply Inc.	Long Acting Nasal Spray	PMA	.002
	Navresso