Lead Poisoning Signs and Symptoms

 When I grew up the topic of lead poisoning was not the same as it is today. Back in the 1950 and 1960's it was a thing you just dealt with and not something you talked about. Prior to 1978 in fact lead was in everything and everywhere, even in gasoline.

Trying to live without it was not the issue. Trying to keep it out of everything you ate or touched was something that was just done, you cleaned and cleaned as much as you could. You tried to keep the babies from chewing on the furniture or the wooden toys, you tried to keep the older kids from tracking in dirt and you washed everything as much as you could.

I wonder if I would have been as good of a parent as my mother if I had been 17 with two baby girls in the 50's. No wonder she was frazzeled. But she just dealt with it, one thing at a time. there isn't any telling how much lead I and my siblings have consumed. Fortunately, there does not seem to be any lasting effects.

Lead posioning is known as plumbism. A child absorbs lead much faster than an adult.The signs in children include anemia, vomiting, lack of appetite, lack of energy, hearing loss, speech difficulties and learning disabilities as well as poor growth and lack of coordination.

Lead attacks all of the organs and systems of the body and it a slow process; the effects build up over time and cannot be overcome. In fact, there is no "safe limit" knwn to humankind of the amount of lead you can have in your body. Even the smallest amount of lead is toxic. It is probably one of the first work hazards of the industrialized world.

A blood level will show the amount of lead in a persons body then a process called chelation is done. Thisprocess causes all the lead to clump together and it excreted out of the body. Effects on the kidneys and blood are reversible but effects to bone and the nervous system are irreversible

To test an environment you can buy a lead testing kit or you can hire your home to be professionally tested as well as cleaned.

You can run your cold water for fifteen minutes before using it every morning if you live in home with lead pipes or where lead was used in the soldering of pipes.

It is defineitely a constant need for cleaning if you live in an older home, especially with small children. handwashing must bea paramount concern, especially before eating, nap time and bedtime. Have the kids remove their shoes before coming inside. Vacuuming and cleaning all surfaces daily with a detergent specially made to remove lead must be done daily as well.

The removal of lead paint must be done by a professional company. Care must be taken in urban environments not to grow edible plants in soil that may be contaminated i the past from lead. Avoid driking water from rain barrels as lead could come off the roof or be in the rain barrel itself.

One little known item that still contains lead is kohl; the asian cosmetic used around eyes. There are also folk remedies such as greta and azarcon that also contain lead and because these are folk remedies they are not scrutinized by the Food and Drug Administration.Greta and azarcon are used to treat diarrhea or other gastrointestional illnesses.