Abstract

Severe heavy metal poisonings are rare in Estonia. One of the well-known heavy metals is copper, which has copper sulphate as one of its principal salts. This compound is primarily used in gardening as a pesticide, fungicide, and fertilizer. Human poisonings with copper sulphate are associated mainly with self-harm and suicide attempts. These are especially frequent in South Asia. In this article we present a case of severe copper sulphate poisoning that was initially treated as a rodenticide poisoning by mistake. We also present a literature overview of this specific type of poisoning.