Introduction: A fifteen-year-old boy suddenly fell ill; he experienced fatigue, headache, tingling in his limbs, weakness, and weight loss. The only information provided stated that she had used an acne cream prescribed by a dermatologist and an over-the-counter "beauty cream" to treat the skin irritation. Doctors could not find the reason for the boy's illness, but interestingly, a heavy metal was found in the boy's urine. What could the heavy metal be and could it have caused such a severe reaction? The goal was to find the cause behind the sudden illness of this 15-year-old boy. Hoping to find the cause of his illness, research, diagnosis and analysis were used to resolve the perplexing situation. Assuming that the only scientific explanation for his illness could be that it was a reaction to some heavy metal present in the creams, therefore research was conducted to find out in which of the compounds that make up the creams a heavy metal is present. The compounds that are part of the two creams are benzoyl peroxide, acetone, resorcinol, salicylic acid and calomel. After researching which elements were part of these compounds, it was discovered that of these compounds, the first four are organic compounds composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Of the first three, none contained heavy metals. However, the latter calomel, which is the common name for mercury(I) chloride (Hg2Cl2), is an ionic bond between mercury and chlorine. Mercury is a heavy metal. Once the heavy metal was identified it was necessary to ensure that it was the correct element. To this end, research was conducted on cases of mercury contamination and its effects on the human body. Research has shown that mercury is...... the focus of the paper......art, Richard C. “IV: Chemicals”. Medical toxicology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2004. 1439-47. Print.Huckleberry, Michael and Bryan Rosner, eds. “Chapter 8: Supportive Therapies for Accelerated Progress.” Lyme disease and widespread machines. 1st ed. BioMed Publishing Group, 2004. 128. Print.Merieb, Elaine N. “Chapter 6: Bones and Bone Tissue.” Human anatomy and physiology. 4th ed. Benjamin-Cummings PC /Addison WL, Inc, 1997. 154. Print. Olmsted, Dan and Mark Blaxill. The age of autism: Mercury, medicine, and a man-made epidemic. 1st ed. New York: Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's, 2010. Stampa.Ovalle, David. “A University of Miami official was hospitalized for poisoning; subordinate arrested”. Miami Herald. September 2006. Print.Scerri, Eric R. The periodic table: its history and meaning. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.