California Poison Control System (http://www.calpoison.org) is observing National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and warns consumers that lead can be found in a variety of products available to children.
“Lead poisoning is an important cause of learning disabilities, anemia, as well as growth problems, and children exposed to lead may have attention and aggression problems,” said Dr. Richard Geller, Executive Medical Director for the CPCS. He added that children are most commonly exposed to lead by ingesting paint chips or dirt that is contaminated with lead, especially if one or both parents have occupational exposure to lead.
Dr. Geller said ways to prevent lead poisoning in children include having them wash their hands frequently, washing their toys often and providing a diet high in iron and calcium.
Children who are undernourished can absorb more lead into their bodies than children with well balanced diets. Consumer lead testing kits can be found at most hardware stores and may be of use in detecting lead in the home. For more free poison and safety tips, text the word TIPS or PUNTOS for Spanish to 69866.
Dr. Geller offered the following 10 lead poisoning prevention tips:
1. Make sure your children do not chew on painted surfaces, such as toys or window sills.
2. Report chipped or cracked paint to your landlord if you live in an older home built before 1978.
3. Cover paint that is peeling or chipping with duct tape until it can be removed.
4. Ask your doctor to test your young children for lead even if they seem healthy.
5. Children's necklaces and bracelets, adult watches, as well as religious jewelry from Mexico, have been found to contain lead.
6. Keys frequently have small amounts of lead in them – do not let babies play with or teethe on your keychain.
7. Run the faucet for a few minutes before using cold water for cooking, drinking or preparing infant formula (this can help flush out the lead which can build up in sitting water), especially if the cold water hasn't been used in the past two hours.
8. Avoid eating foods that are canned outside the United States.
9. Traces of lead have been found in some candy and its packaging imported from Mexico containing chili or tamarind.
10. Folk medicines (especially home remedies) imported from another country also contain lead. These include: pay-loo-ah (fever and rash treatment); azarcon (also called Maria Luisa, Liga, Alarzon, Greta, Coral and Rueda); Asian folk remedies, including Ghasard, Bali Goli and Kandu; and Middle Eastern folk remedies, including farouk and bint al zahab.
Call California Poison Control System at 1-800-222-1222 for more information on lead poisoning. Trained certified pharmacists, nurses and poison information providers to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is free, confidential and interpreters are always available.
Become a fan on Facebook at California Poison Control System and follow on Twitter @poisoninfo.
image: by Abby Lanes on Flickr under Creative Commons
4 comments:
What about lead testing kits? Are they effective/accurate? Or is there some kind of service that will come and conduct testing in your home?
I was shocked when I learned that cords are made out of lead...extension cords, power strips, christmas tree lights, lamp cords, and on and on. Not that little people should be playing with them, but my son who is fascinated by electricity loved to explore our cabinet of extra extension cords (not plugged in). So, my message is...don't touch cords and when you do, wash hands!
Julie
I'd like to add a few tips:
Lead paint was very commonly used on house exteriors. If your house was built before 1978, you should assume that soil within a few feet of the house is contaminated. Don't let your kids play in it or eat plants grown in it.
Lead dust can blow in through windows, especially if you live near a busy road. Frequently wiping off window wells can reduce contamination.
If you have lead contamination in your home, vacuuming removes lead particles better than broom-sweeping, especially if your vacuum has a HEPA filter. Frequent vacuuming and mopping can reduce exposure. Frequent hand-washing is also a good idea, especially before eating.
If you live in Vermont, there is an excellent lead abatement program run by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. Lower-income families may be able to get free testing and free or lowered-cost lead abatement through this program.
I have read that about 75% of pre-1978 homes have at least some lead paint, but many people assume that their house is "safe". The "lead disclosure" forms used when buying or selling property (in this state at least) are pretty much a joke. The seller has to disclose any lead paint they know about, but if they can plausibly claim ignorance they get to check the "there's no lead paint as far as I know" box. A lot of people interpret this as meaning that there is no lead paint - really, it just means the house hasn't been tested, and if it's an older home, there is probably lead paint.
could you site any source for keys containing lead?
thanks!
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