Dear Doctor,
4 January 2002
A case of mercury poisoning involving a 32-year-old domestic helper was reported to the Department of Health recently. She has been using a beauty cream named "YOUDI优迪祛斑王" regularly for about 3 months since August 2001. During investigation, samples of the beauty cream were found to contain significant amount of mercury content. The Department of Health has appealed to members of the public who have used this cream to contact the Department for counseling, testing and management.
Should you encounter patients who have a history of using the beauty cream "YOUDI优迪祛斑王", please advise them to contact the Department of Health at telephone hotline number 2961 8968 for further management. Generally speaking, most clinical cases of mercury poisoning associated with mercury-containing cosmetics occur among people who use the product for months or even years.
An information sheet on mercury poisoning is enclosed for your reference.
In order to facilitate prompt investigation and control of heavy metal poisoning including mercury, all heavy metal poisoning cases should be reported to the respective Regional Office of Department of Health at the following telephone numbers:
| Region | Tel. no. |
| Hong Kong | 2961 8791 |
| Kowloon | 2199 9149 |
| New Territories (East) | 2684 5138 |
| New Territories (West) | 2615 8571 |
|
Yours sincerely, (Dr. Thomas TSANG) for Director of Health |