Prevention (1)
- Lead exposure: Tips to protect your child
Symptoms (1)
- Symptom Checker
Treatments and drugs (1)
- Poisoning: First aid
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Lead exposure: Tips to protect your child
Lead exposure is preventable. Find out about common sources of lead exposure and what you can do to protect your child.
By Mayo Clinic staffDo you shudder when you see a lead recall list in the news? Protecting your child from lead exposure may seem nearly impossible. There are a number of steps you can take, however, to prevent lead exposure and keep your child healthy.
Why is lead exposure dangerous for a child?
Lead is a metal that's found in many places and can be hard to detect. Children are at especially high risk of lead exposure because they tend to put their hands and objects in their mouths, and their growing bodies readily absorb lead. Exposure to even low levels of lead — 10 micrograms (a microgram is one-millionth of a gram) in a deciliter (1/2 cup) of blood — can harm children over time. Too much lead in a child's blood may lead to:
- Anemia
- Decreased muscle and bone growth
- Hearing damage
- Learning disabilities
- Nervous system and kidney damage
- Muscle weakness
- Speech, language and behavior problems
- Brain damage
Keep in mind, however, that even children who seem healthy may have high levels of lead in their bodies.
Next page(1 of 2)
- Lee DA, et al. Childhood lead poisoning: Exposure and prevention. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 4, 2009.
- Lead is a poison: What you need to know. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://patiented.aap.org/content.aspx?aid=5568. Accessed Jan. 13, 2010.
- American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health. Lead exposure in children: Prevention, detection, and management. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;116/4/1036.pdf. Pediatrics. 2005;116:1036.
- Cleveland LM, et al. Lead hazards for pregnant women and children: Part 2. American Journal of Nursing. 2008;108:40.
- Gorospe EC, et al. Atypical sources of childhood lead poisoning in the United States: A systematic review from 1966-2006. Clinical Toxicology. 2008;46:728.
- Prevention tips. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/Lead/tips.htm. Accessed Jan. 13, 2010.
- Lead in paint, dust and soil. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm#where. Accessed Jan. 13, 2010.
- National report on human exposure to environmental chemicals: Lead. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/Lead_FactSheet.html. Accessed Jan. 13, 2010.
- Lead. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html#bookmark05. Accessed Jan. 13, 2010.
- Protect your family from lead in your home. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/426.pdf. Accessed Jan. 13, 2010.
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