Santee: Is Your Child at Risk for Lead Poisoning?

SANTEE, CA -- Lead poisoning is the most common environmental illness among children in California but few recognized the signs and symptoms, health officials said.

That's why San Diego health officials are urging parents to minimize the risk by checking for lead in and around their homes. Officials have chosen, "Is Your Child At Risk for Lead Poisoning?" as the theme for this year's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, Oct. 23 -29.

The only way to know for sure if your child has lead poisoning is to get a blood lead test. More than 1,000 children and young adults under the age of 21 in San Diego County had elevated blood lead levels in 2012, according to the California Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch.

“Many children at risk for lead poisoning have not been tested,” San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said. “This is why it’s important for parents to ask their child’s doctor about lead testing.”

Lead poisoning can cause a significant decrease in an IQ even at low blood lead levels.

“There’s no safe blood lead level for children,” she said. “A child with lead poisoning can suffer from behavioral problems and can have issues with learning, paying attention, and excelling academically.”

Most symptoms of lead poisoning are commonly confused with childhood complaints such as stomach-aches, crankiness, headaches, or loss of appetite, according to CDPH.

Children are most commonly exposed to lead by ingesting lead-contaminated dust, soil, and paint chips from deteriorating lead-based paint. Adults who work in jobs or hobbies that involve lead products, such as soldering, making stained glass, and handling bullets/ammunition or fishing sinkers, can put children at risk by bringing lead dust home on their clothes.

Other possible sources of lead poisoning are:

• lead dust carried home on parents’ work clothes.
• painted objects (e.g., toys, jewelry, imported ceramic-glazed pottery).
• cosmetics, folk remedies, and traditional medicines.
• imported candies and food products.

For more information regarding lead poisoning or to request materials or a presentation, please visit www.sdlead.org or call 619-692-8487.

-- County News Center contributed to this story. Photo via Pixabay.