Ann Occup Environ Med.
2013 ;25(1):37.
A Case of Lead Poisoning due to a Mixture of Talisman Ash
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Yeungnam University Hospital, 317-1, Daemyungdong, Namgu, Daegu 705-717, Republic of Korea. jjsakong@gmail.com
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
Lead is a metal that has no biological function useful for the human body. In Korea, non-occupational exposure to lead has mostly occurred through taking oriental medicine. However, in this paper we report a case of lead poisoning caused by ingesting talisman material.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 16-year-old male patient complained of severe abdominal pain after taking cinnabar, a talisman material. He was diagnosed with lead poisoning accompanied by acute hepatitis. We confirmed that the cinnabar the patient took contained about 10% elemental lead. After symptom management, the patients' symptoms, liver function test results, and blood lead concentration level improved.
CONCLUSION
Lead poisoning can be accompanied by hepatitis, although rarely. As we have confirmed that cinnabar as a talisman material is harmful to the human body, measures to prevent its misuse are needed.
