Exposure to CFL lightbulb break :/ Feedback? Help??

lilpanda2 · April 2015

Last weekend while putting together the lamp in the nursey the lightbulb dropped from my clumsy hand and broke. Most of the debris was on the dresser so I picked up larger pieces and swept the smaller ones into a open box for disposal. I was in a rush and didn't think much of it and left the house, even left the box sitting in the nursey all week long (door to nursey was mainly closed).

This weekend I went to do more work and noticed the box; took it out to the kitchen and left it on the counter for my husband to dispose of. Once he saw the bulb he completely freaked out! He alerted me of the dangers (low levels of mercury that becomes airborne) and tried to have me give him every detail on what I did and how I cleaned up (he works with autistic children so this is his worst nightmare) Naturally after doing the research I started freaking out too and became very upset - I didn't know how harmful it was to me and my unborn baby (I'm 30 weeks). My only form of relief is we were away most of the weekend for my birthday and I wasn't in the room too long, though I was the one that broke the bulb and cleaned it up so I've been exposed the worst. Not to mention I can't recall if I washed my hands after.

I've done as much research as I could and have a doctors appointment this week. I suppose I'm just looking for feedback if anyone had a similar experience and things turned out okay...or not...

I read cilantro naturally detoxes heavy metals but not sure if it is too late...

KaLikeAWind · April 2015

I gotta say I didn't know anything about the hazards of the CFL lightbulbs breaking other than if one breaks you're supposed to be careful, but not WHY. So I just googled it and realized what a total pain that would be to clean up the way they recommend to. Well, here's my takeaway from my brief journey into CFL lightbulb class - the amount of mercury is very small - I believe I read less than 1% of what was in a mercury thermometer. So there is that going for you. To be honest, if it hadn't been for this post and my reading into it further, in your situation I probably would have just swept it up and gone on with my day.

Bottom line is - your cleanup is already done and its been however long since it happened for any gases to dissipate by this point, so other than using a damp paper towel to wipe the area where it broke and sealing that away with the rest of the broken glass (if, for example, you still have the broken pieces just hanging out in your kitchen trash bin) it doesn't sound like there is much you can do. I would think that minimal amount of mercury present wouldn't present too much of a problem, but to put your mind at ease call your drs nurse hotline and ask them. Maybe its the equivalent of eating a tuna steak, for perspective, which pregnant women can have in moderation. You can't change the past so try not to stress about it

KaLikeAWind · April 2015

P.s. - regarding the cilantro - I wouldn't bother unless your nurses tell you to do so and how to go about doing it. I mean, how much would you use? A sprig? An ounce? More? Is cilantro safe for pregnant women in those amounts? It seems like it opens up more questions than it solves.
Good luck gal. Let us know what the nurses / doc have to say!

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Exposure to CFL lightbulb break :/ Feedback? Help??

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