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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThe first step in treating all degrees of lead poisoning is to remove the source of the contamination. If you can't remove lead from your environment, you may at least be able to reduce the likelihood that it will cause problems. For instance, sometimes it might be better to seal in, rather than remove, old lead paint. Your local health department can recommend ways to identify and reduce lead in your home and community.
For children and adults with relatively low lead levels, simply avoiding exposure to lead may be enough to reduce blood lead levels.
Treating higher levels
For more severe cases, your doctor may recommend:
- Chelation therapy. In this treatment, you take a medication that binds with the lead so that it's excreted in your urine.
- EDTA therapy. Doctors treat lead levels greater than 45 mcg/dL of blood with a chemical called ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Depending on your lead level, you may need more than one treatment. In such severe cases, however, it may not be possible to reverse damage that has already occurred.
Children with lead toxicity may also be iron deficient and are treated with iron supplements, if needed.
- CDC's Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals: Spotlight on Lead. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/factsheet_lead.pdf. Accessed Jan. 17, 2009.
- ToxFAQs for lead. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html#bookmark05. Accessed Jan. 17, 2008.
- Goldman RH, et al. Adult lead poisoning. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 19, 2008.
- HUD sets new requirements to prevent childhood lead poisoning in housing assisted or being sold by the federal government. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. http://nhl.gov/offices/lead/library/enforcement/1012fs.pdf. Accessed Jan. 23, 2009.
- General lead information: Questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/faq/about.htm. Accessed Jan. 23, 2009.
- Protect your family from lead in your home. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/426.pdf. Accessed Jan. 23, 2009.
