$Unique_ID{PAR00117}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Lead Poisoning}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Lead Poisoning Poor appetite Vomiting Constipation Irritability
Aggressive behavior Seizure Seizures Personality changes change personality
Clumsiness Paleness pale Fatigue Weakness swallow swallowing paint plaster
lead dust Microscopic particles swallows metal accumulates blood poisoning
body tissues nervous system digestive system kidneys putty artist's pigments
artist pigment car exhaust cars high-acid food foods beverage beverages orange
juice tomato juices brain damage mental developments slow physical development
convulsion convulsions clumsy anemia anemic symptoms tiredness breathlessness
fainting unconscious blood test urine tests testing pica chelation therapy}
$Log{}

Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Lead Poisoning


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     - Poor appetite
     - Vomiting
     - Constipation
     - Irritability
     - Slow development
     - Aggressive behavior
     - Seizures
     - Personality changes
     - Clumsiness
     - Paleness
     - Fatigue
     - Weakness

     HOME CARE
     - Discourage your child from putting nonfood objects into his mouth and
       swallowing them.
     - Have the paint and plaster in your home tested for lead content
     - Watch for changes in your child's behavior.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - Check your home and yard for possible sources of lead.
     - Scraping, sanding, and other tasks involved in remodeling buildings may
       release lead into the air.  Such a location should be avoided by
       infants, small children, and pregnant women until the work has been
       completed.
     - A person whose work involves exposure to lead should take steps to
       avoid bringing lead-containing dust into the home on work clothes.
     - Sources of lead poisoning can include artist's pigments, exhaust from
       cars, soil around buildings on which lead-based paint was used, city
       air, and improperly glazed pottery.


     Lead is a heavy, dense metal that is poisonous to the human body.
Microscopic particles of lead can enter the body if a person swallows
something that contains lead or inhales air contaminated with lead.  The metal
then accumulates in the blood and body tissues.  The most serious effects of
lead poisoning are on the brain and nervous system.  It can also damage the
digestive system and the kidneys.
     Before 1977, lead was an ingredient in paint, plaster, and putty, and
most cases of lead poisoning occur when a small child eats fragments of
lead-based paint that have peeled off a wall or have been left in the soil
around a house.  Although house paint manufactured today no longer contains
lead, the metal is found in many other places.  Some of the sources of lead
poisoning include artist's pigments, exhaust from cars (some gasoline contains
lead), soil around buildings that were once painted with lead-based paint, and
the air in cities where lead may be used in industry and where the exhaust
from many cars is concentrated.  Lead is also found in high-acid foods and
beverages (for example, orange and tomato juice) that have been stored in
lead-containing pottery that was not properly glazed.
     Lead poisoning can cause permanent damage to the brain, especially in
cases in which the symptoms are severe.  Such damage may not occur if the
problem is quickly identified and treated.  However, it may take as long as a
year for a child who has had lead poisoning to recover completely.  Lead
poisoning occurs most often in children under the age of five.  It is most
dangerous if the child is less than two years old.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     The symptoms of lead poisoning vary with the age of the child and the
amount of lead that is in the child's body, and are difficult to identify
because they may build up gradually.  Symptoms may include poor appetite,
vomiting, constipation, extreme irritability, slow mental and physical
development, aggressive behavior, convulsions, personality changes,
clumsiness, and symptoms of anemia (paleness, tiredness, weakness,
breathlessness, and fainting).  In severe cases, the child may become
unconscious.
     A routine blood or urine test will not detect lead poisoning.  Before the
problem can be diagnosed, the doctor must suspect that lead may be causing the
child's symptoms.  Specific laboratory tests are then done to measure the lead
content in the blood and urine.

HOME CARE

     Be alert for changes in your child's behavior.  Also, watch to see if
your child has a habit of putting nonfood objects in the mouth and swallowing
them; this habit, which is called pica, can result in lead poisoning.  Check
your home and yard for sources of lead.  Have the paint and plaster in your
home tested for lead content.

PRECAUTIONS

  -  If you are remodeling a home--especially if you are burning, scraping, or
     sanding paint and plaster inside the building--you may be releasing lead
     into the air.  Pregnant women, infants, and small children should live
     elsewhere until the work has been completed and the dust has been cleaned
     up.  Consult your local health department about the proper way to remove
     lead from the home environment.
  -  Anyone whose work involves exposure to lead should be especially careful
     about bringing home lead-containing dust on work clothes.  Such
     occupations include lead smelting, storage battery manufacture, repair,
     and recycling; automobile assembly; and automobile body and radiator
     repair.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     Treatment for lead poisoning is called chelation therapy.  The doctor
prescribes a drug that combines with the lead in the body and draws it out of
the tissues where it is stored.  The lead passes out of the body in the urine.
A special diet or a change in diet may also be prescribed.  Of course, this
treatment will not be effective if the child is still taking in lead.  The
source of lead must be identified and removed first.

RELATED TOPICS:  Anemia; Constipation; Convulsions without fever; Vomiting