Lead Poisoning In Kids by Dr. Chetan Ginigeri

• Wall paints: Lead is used in most of the paints applied at home. Children usually have a habit of licking the paint or eating the paint chips that are high in lead content.
• Soil: Most of the soil is contaminated with lead. When we give food grown in that soil to our young one, it accumulates in their small bodies and causes lead toxicity.
• Water pipes: As shown by various surveys, the water that comes in the home contains lead due to the old plumbing fixtures that cause lead exposure in babies.
• Toys: Toys are the childhood companions of the babies. But these plastic toys are painted with lead paints that, when chewed by the baby, cause toxicity in their body.
• Pottery: Varnishes or coating found on some ceramics, china, and porcelain contains lead. This can get into the food served or stored in that pottery and in the long run, paves the way to lead poisoning.

Symptoms Of Lead Poisoning In Children:

Unfortunately, signs and symptoms of lead poisoning will not appear until its level become dangerously high in your child’s body. Kindly diagnose your child if you find the following symptoms of lead toxicity in him:

1. Weight loss
2. Loss of appetite
3. Delayed development and difficulty in learning.
4. Irritability
5. Hearing loss
6. Digestive problems like vomiting, stomach ache, constipation.

When Should Your Child Be Diagnosed For Lead Poisoning?

Not all children show the same symptoms during lead poisoning. In the beginning, it becomes very difficult to detect lead poisoning by the parents. But you can detect lead poisoning in your child by a blood test that will denote the amount of lead present in his body.
Here are some of the long term effects of lead poisoning in children:

• The decreased growth of muscles and bones.
• Developmental delay.
• Language and speech problems
• Severe damages to kidney, nervous system and hearing system
• Unconsciousness, and seizures.

How Can You Protect Your Children From Lead Exposure?

As known, prevention is always better than cure. Here are some preventive measures you can opt to protect your child from lead toxicity:

• Wash the hands before and after the meal: Maintain a good habit in your child to wash hands before and after he takes the meal. This can be helpful in preventing the toxicity but protecting him from various other infections.
• Clean the toys and wash the eatables: Before giving a toy to your child or eatable, always wash it properly to remove the extra amount of lead present on it.
• Water safety: Water that comes directly from the pipes contain a large amount of lead. Let it run for some time so that the lead gets washed off and never fill up the formula feeding bottles of your child from the hot tap water.
• Add more of calcium and iron: Diet therapy can do wonders. If you are living in a place that is prone to lead toxicity, check to add more calcium and iron in the diet of your children. These two minerals are helpful in lowering the lead in the bloodstreams of your baby.
• Regular health checkups: If you are living in a city that is at high risk of lead toxicity, you must have regular health checkups of your child to avoid lead toxicity in him. A regular blood test can be very helpful in detecting the early stage of lead toxicity in young ones.

How To Test Your Home For Lead?

Home is the place where we live, so it becomes very important to test your home from time to time to protect your children with lead poisoning. Here are some measures by which you can check your home for lead toxicity:

• Avoid removing old paints by the sanding method.
• Try to replace your old lead paints with new lead-free paints.
• Change your old plumbing system with the new piping systems

Once you begin following all the right ways of protecting your child, you will surely be able to decrease the effects of lead poisoning with little efforts only. Also, make sure you follow all the doctor’s suggestions in the best way to cure it of the roots.