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Lead Poisoning: Prevention
 
What is lead poisoning?
Lead is a strong poison. It causes very serious health problems, especially for children. The brain is very sensitive to lead exposure during the first 6 years of life. Lead can cause lowered IQ scores, problems paying attention, trouble hearing, and slow development including speech.

Lead poisoning can start slowly with very small amounts of lead. Once lead is in the body, the body has no way to get rid of it. Small amounts of lead in the body do not cause symptoms at first, but even low levels of lead are harmful. If the child keeps taking in lead, it can eventually cause more severe lead poisoning with serious symptoms.

What is the cause?
Most houses built before 1980 contain lead-based paint. Paint-chips and dust contaminated with lead-based paint are a very common source of lead eaten by young children. Children under the age of 6 absorb about half of the lead they put in their mouths. Young children often put things in their mouths and chew on them.

Lead is also found in some plumbing, pipes, and faucets. It is also used in fishing sinkers, some art supplies, and pewter that is not marked "lead-free".

How do I prevent lead poisoning?
There are several things you can do to help prevent lead poisoning. Children with healthy diets who eat a variety of foods tend to absorb less lead. Make sure your child's diet has plenty of iron and calcium. Foods high in iron include spinach, red meat, raisins, dried beans, and turkey. Milk, tofu, cheese, yogurt, pudding, broccoli, calcium fortified orange juice, and green leafy vegetables are good choices for calcium.

Explain that dust sticks to your hands and may contain lead. Playing in the dirt near the house is a problem. Teach children that it is important to wash their hands and toys after touching dust and dirt.

Teach children to avoid areas around the house where there are paint chips, such as door frames, baseboards, windowsills, sheds, garages, and porch railings.

If you suspect there is lead paint on the outside of your house, ask everyone to take their shoes off before coming into the house. Plant bushes next to the walls so children cannot play there.

If you are exposed to lead dust at work, be careful with your work clothes. Lead dust can be carried into your home on your clothes. Shower completely and change clothes before going home to play with the children.

Wet mop and damp dust the home 2 times a week to help prevent lead poisoning.

Have your water tested for lead. Homes built before 1985 may have lead-based solder that may add lead to drinking water. Always use the cold water tap for drinking and cooking because hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead. Anytime you haven't used a faucet for 6 or more hours, flush the old water out of your plumbing by running the water for 3 to 5 minutes or until it is as cold as it will get.

All children should have a blood lead test at ages 1 and 2. Other children up to 6 years of age should be tested if they are at risk. Talk with your child's health care provider about this.




  Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

  HIA File CHL3800F.HTM Release 9.0/2006. Copyright © 2006 McKesson Corporation and/or one of its subdiaries. All Rights Reserved.


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