Blog 3- Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning can effect and damage every system in the human body. It is a very important issue for children all over the United States and the world. The most popular form of lead exposure is lead based paint. Other ways for exposure are cosmetics, food, soil, toys, bullets, hobbies, or jobs. Many old toys and old houses have lead in the paint. Now most paints used for toys and houses have little to no lead in them at all. It is prevelent in developing countries and poor people are at a higher risk.

In the symptoms section of an article by Healthline, light exposure symptoms include abdominal pain, cramps, irritability, headaches, memory loss, fatigue, sleep problems, and constipation. High exposure symptoms include vomiting, seizures, muscle weakness, and stumbling.

There are many ways to avoid lead poisoning. In this article, it gives parents 9 ways to prevent lead poisoning in children. These ways include getting your child screened regularly, evaluate your home, clean with purpose, don't ignore the dangers of renovation, and watch the water exposure.

Housing that were built before 1978, are likely to have lead based paint. In 1978, the federal government passed a law that consumers could not use lead based paint anymore. Paint that is in good shape is usaully not a problem. When paint starts to crack, rot, or chip, then there can be high lead exposure.

The best way to detect lead poisoning is by a simple blood test.

The first way to treat it is to identify the source of the lead. Whether it is paint, toys, or cosmetics, identifying and getting rid of the source is first and best way to stop exposure. Knowing how to properly remove the product is very important. For example, sometimes it is better to seal over the paint instead of removing it.

For light exposure, good nutrition is very important. Eating foods that are high in iron, vitamins, and minerals will help balance out the lead levels.

For high exposure, Chelation therapy is a controversial treatment. Chelation therapy is injecting a synthetic solution into the blood. The synthetic solution then takes all the hard metals out of the body and excretes it through the urine.

It is very important to use cold tap water for drinking, cooking, and bottle formula for babies. Folk medicine, Mexican candies, no lead free food containers, and toy jewerly are other things to avoid with lead.

According to the Annual Report 2015 put out by Ohio.gov, there were 153,010 Ohio children tested for lead poisoning in 2014. There were 4,596 children with confirmed blood levels of  >5ug/dl and 1,298 children with confirmed blood levels of >10ug/dl. Out of the Ohio population, .85% were tested for lead poisoning. In Athens County out of the 789 children test, 11 children had blood levels of >5ug/dl. The rest 777, had blood levels of <5ug/dl.

According to this article put out by WHO (World Health Organization),  environmental exposures to lead includes petrol, industrial processes, paint, canned food, water pipes, air, dust, soil, water, and food.