Merthiolate is the trade name for thiomersal, which has a lot of people hot and bothered when it is used as a preservative in vaccines.
As it turns out, ethylmercury is very efficiently absorbed from the skin when thiomersal is applied for cuts and scrapes.
Looks like we both survived our childhood.
Scraped knees and elbows, stubbed toes, all day on my bike with no pads or helmets. Out until my father whistled for dinner...and nobody knew where I was. Or cared...as long as I was at the table within a minute of that whistle! It’s a wonder I lived this long and that my parents weren’t arrested!!