When I think of lead poisoning, I think of old paint peeling off the wall. It can actually be a silent enemy. Just yesterday, a family in Utah discovered that their little girl has been affected by lead — not from sucking on a recalled toy, but from plates in their kitchen. And, the scary thing is that the girl wasn't the one eating off of them. Her mother was passing it on to her daughter by breastfeeding. I don't know about you, but I only worried about my food and drink consumption while I was nursing. I'll know better next time.
Lead poisoning can cause nausea, constipation, stomach aches, and headaches in the short term. Long-term effects include behavior, learning, and physical development issues . If you live in an old home that has old paint, it might be a good idea to talk to your pediatrician about testing your child's lead level. I'm taking my own daughter in for her test next week.
The plates were made by Home Trends and were sold at Wal-Mart over three years ago. They do not sell those particular plates anymore, but they still carry the line.
H.I.S
Avon
Stella McCartney
This is so scary! We have to worry about everything these days. Lead is also found in a lot of lamps, vases,etc.
1We just took our daughter to get lead teasted, cuz we live in military housing. the houses are old as dirt, and thankfully she tested fine.
2There are some very surprising lead sources that people are not talking about. Chocolate. Henna.
3House dust ... just to name a few. The focus is on what happens to a child you comes in contact with lead. We need to make our home lead-safe - absolutely! But we need to be equally vigilant about the lead that woman accumulate over their lifetime, since it stores in their bones and transfers directly to the growing fetus. We have an epidemic of kids with learning disabilites, ADHD and low IQ as a direct result of inutero transfer.
For a complete explanation of lead - one that every parent ought to read, and a 3 step lead-proofing system to ensure your whole family is lead-safe, you will want to read "LEAD BABIES" by Cerazy and Cottingham.
Dear Elaine,
Blood lead does not tell you how much lead is in one's system - it is only a snap shot of present lead exposure that is ongoing.
The way to tell if your baby has high lead levels is a hair sample. When he loses his baby teeth, you can send one to a lab and that will tell you if he had lead exposure in-utero.
Another important thing to know is that babies with accumulations of lead (usually passed from mom) must avoid exposure to mercury, since lead and mercury potentiate and the mercury becomes 100X as toxic as it normally does.
There are lots of surprising sources of mercury too. A full explanation and products and items to avoid are in LEAD BABIES; by Cerazy and Cottingham. Available everywhere. Its not scary - its empowering. Readers are saying wonderful things about how enlightened and safe they felt after reading it and following the guide to become lead-safe.
I hope you become lead-safe and lead-savy. It scares me to think an MD would test blood, and call it a day! We have a long way to go.
Best regards.
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