A woman is in a semi-comatose state after using a skincare cream from Mexico, which was tainted with toxic levels of mercury.
The tainted face cream contained a powerful form of mercury, known as methylmercury. While mercury levels less than 5 micrograms per liter in the blood are considered acceptable, the woman had 2,630 micrograms per liter.
The 47-year-old mother of five, of Sacramento, Calif., has allegedly been buying Pond’s Rejuveness cream from Jalisco, Mexico, through a “friend of a friend” for 12 years, and using it twice a day without any problems.
Her son said his mother was aware that an ingredient was being added to the face cream before it was shipped.
“It came on very slowly,” the son, who asked not to be identified, told CBS Sacramento. “She had mentioned just numbing in her lips, and numbing in her mouth, she had a lot of fatigue, very tired all the time, just wanting to be in bed.”
In July, the woman went to the hospital after her symptoms, which now included slurred speech and difficulty walking, became worse. She eventually fell into a semi-comatose state and has remained there for weeks, according to KCRA.
Extracts from a Yahoo News article (original). Published 12 September 2019.
