Vaccines containing the
mercury preservative thimerosal (now mostly removed
from the market) have long been
blamed for causing autism, but scientific links are inconclusive.
The term erethism (or reddening), which derives
from a person's tendency to blush, 3 covers a constellation of personality traits including timidity, diffidence, contentiousness, insecurity, bluntness, rigidity, excitability and hypersensitivity to criticism and to sensory stimulation.4 - 6 Considering
mercury's subtle but reproducible effects on emotions, it is likely that a number of problems
blamed on character, personality or stress may in fact be caused or compounded by low - level
mercury toxicity.