Lead Poisoning
Question:
With so much media discussion about lead poisoning, I am concerned
about my children. How do I know if my children are being poisoned?
Answer: There
is a lot of discussion about lead levels in the blood and the
possible damage to the nervous system including the brain, kidneys
and red blood cells. Lead is all around us in paint, batteries,
drinking water, and pottery and other ceramic dishes that are
hand glazed. Before leaded gasoline was banned, tons of lead
from engine exhaust were emitted into the air we breathe. Lead
in paint has also been banned, but exposure can occur in houses
that are more than 20 years old. The problem here is when the
paint flakes off and small children pick it up. Of course, it
goes right to the mouth and because it tastes sweet, the child
looks for more. If the paint is not flaking, there is no need
to remove it. For peace of mind, one can paint over the lead-based
paint to reduce the chance of exposure. In 1986, the use of
lead solder for plumbing was also banned.
The first thing you
should do is have your physician or local health department
determine the lead concentration in the blood of your children.
The average background level, i.e., the level present in the
persons who have known exposure to lead, is about 5 mcg/dl.
Some people have slightly higher levels and some have slightly
lower levels. By determining the levels in your child's blood,
you can determine if your child is being exposed to higher levels
of lead.
If the blood level
is elevated above 10 mcg/dl, have the test repeated because
these tests can easily be contaminated. If the second blood
test is above 10 mcg/dl, the best thing you can do is to eliminate
any further exposure to lead. Try to determine where and how
your child is being exposed to lead. Have your local health
department check the lead level in your tap water, especially
if your house was built before 1986. if there are small amounts
of lead in your tap water, let the water run for a couple of
minutes before drawing water for drinking or cooking. Do the
children put jewelry or printed matter in their mouth? Are the
toys and materials like crayons made in the U.S.? Some countries
are not as stringent as the U.S. in regulating the lead content
in consumer products. Is there an old battery or car radiator
in the garage that the child sometimes plays with? Have the
soil and play areas tested for lead. Eliminating the source
of lead, is the most important thing you can do.
What can you do to
reduce the blood levels in your children? At this time, there
is considerable debate about what therapy to administer if any.
Some promote chelation therapy in which a drug is administered
that binds or encloses the lead ions and then is excreted. The
problem is that only a small fraction of the lead in the body
is in the blood. So, if you remove all the lead in the blood
today, lead in other body tissue will equilibrate with the blood
so that after all of the drug is excreted, the lead concentration
in the blood will build back up to near pretreatment levels.
Of course, one could routinely administer the drug over and
over; however these drugs can damage the liver and/or kidneys,
especially over multiple doses. Also, these drugs are rather
not-specific and can eliminate essential metal ions from the
blood. You will need to discuss with your physician, what the
best action or therapy is for your child. However, unless you
eliminate exposure, therapy will be of little help.
National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
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