Humans and animals have been exposed to one or all forms of mercury, but the toxic effects may vary depending on the person or animal. Toxic effects can also vary depending on the level of exposure, the type of chemical form the mercury is in, and the location of exposure. Humans and animals weigh different weights and are different sizes. The smaller the mammal, the more visible the symptoms of mercury poisoning will be, as well as the toxic effects. Other factors involved are family genes, diet, lifestyle and health status of the mammals before exposure which will determine whether they will be poisoned by mercury. Any oral digestion of mercury fillings from dental work or mercury-filled oral thermometers will not be a problem. significant exposure can have toxic effects. Toxic exposure through skin contact with mercury is extremely low, as is the possibility of it passing through the skin. On the other hand, it may all depend on the amount of contact with your skin. The worst symptom in case of skin contact may be a rash or slight bumps. If small amounts are digested as elemental (metallic) mercury, the gastrointestinal tract will pass the substance through the body in small amounts, but if continuous amounts are digested, it will accumulate in the appendix and cause infections or worse. Another form of contact is exposure to air or vapors which are extremely dangerous to humans and animals because they can stay in your system for long periods of time before being eliminated from the body. The most damaging form to humans and mammals is mercury digestion. Exposure to elemental mercury is mainly due to indoor spills, medical waste, and leftover mercury from school laboratories, due to humans not being pro...... middle of paper ... ...hair, blood, nails, urine samples and if women are pregnant, breast milk can be a way to measure contamination. Treatment may depend on the severity of the case and may require hospitalization. If hospitalization is necessary, tell the doctor what form of mercury contamination you have been exposed to and ask the authorities to remove the contamination. Doctors will admit the patient to intensive care and monitor them closely. If the test is positive, some people use a therapy called chelation, which is used to treat toxic metals in the body (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/chelation). In more serious cases, blood filtration is used. In less severe cases, the use of ultraviolet light on the aquatic environment can break down mercury or methylmercury into gaseous form. FDA warns females to limit their fish intake and stay away from all products containing mercury.