Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning, or lead toxicity, is a serious condition that occurs when your child is around high levels of lead. Exposure to lead may come from a variety of sources. Old, lead-based paint is where it’s most common. Lead poisoning often affects children who live in older houses with peeling lead paint or lead pipes. Lead can also contaminate:

• Soil near roadways, older houses and industrial sites
• Herbal remedies or medicines
• Toys and candies from countries outside the U.S., Canada and Europe
• Stained glass
• Leaded crystal glassware
• Glazed ceramic ware, including plates, pitchers and cups

While lead poisoning can affect anyone, it’s especially dangerous in children. It can damage your child’s nervous system, brain and other organs. Lead poisoning in children can also lead to severe learning and behavioral problems. This can include sudden brain damage and long-term intellectual disabilities.

Since the ban of lead-based paint, lead poisoning cases have dropped by more than 95%. But it’s still a major public health issue that can have severe effects on your child.

Lead poisoning effects

No amount of lead in your child’s blood is safe. Even low blood lead levels in children can affect all the organs and systems in their bodies. These effects can include:

• Developmental delays
• Behavioral problems
• Learning disabilities
• Attention deficits
• Growth delay
• Hearing problems

Higher blood lead levels can cause seizures and comas. In very rare cases, it can be fatal.

Lead poisoning in adults can also lead to serious health effects. These effects can include:

• High blood pressure
• Cardiovascular disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Reproductive issues

When do lead poisoning symptoms appear?

Sometimes, children and adults who’ve experienced lead exposure have no symptoms. Other times, the symptoms of lead poisoning won’t appear right away. When they do occur, the symptoms may develop over several weeks or months. Sometimes, symptoms flare up randomly.

Symptoms of lead poisoning

Often, children who have lead poisoning have no symptoms. Children can have high levels of lead in their bodies even if they’re not showing any signs of the condition. Lead poisoning symptoms may include:

• Cramps
• Hyperactivity (restlessness or fidgeting)
• Learning problems
• Changes in behavior
• Headaches
• Vomiting
• Fatigue
• Anemia

In adults, lead poisoning symptoms may include:

• Headaches
• Abdominal pain
• Personality changes
• Anemia
• Numbness in your feet and legs
• Loss of sex drive
• Infertility

Lead poisoning causes

In the U.S., children mainly get lead poisoning by swallowing and/or absorbing lead-based paint used in houses that were built before 1978. Lead paint gets into children’s systems when they:

• Eat or touch peeling paint chips and flakes that contain lead
• Put their hands, toys and other items covered with lead dust in their mouths
• Breathe in lead dust (which may get into the air during a renovation in an older home)
• Chew on windowsills, furniture, door frames and other items covered with lead-based paint
• Drink water from older water pipes that may leach lead

Adults can get lead poisoning by being exposed to lead through eating food and drinking water contaminated with lead. They may eat from dishes or drink from cups contaminated with lead. If you work in an environment with lead paint or are working on a home remodel, you could be exposed to lead dust.

Risk factors

Lead poisoning can affect anyone, but babies and children under the age of 6 are most at risk. This is because their bodies are still developing. Their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the harmful effects of lead. Also, babies and young children tend to pick up objects and put them in their mouths more frequently. These objects could be contaminated with lead.

Other people at risk for lead poisoning include:

• Children who live in low-income households
• Immigrants and refugees, due to less strict rules about lead exposure in their home countries
• Pregnant women with previous exposure to lead
• Babies breastfed by those with previous exposure to lead
• Babies fed with formula prepared with contaminated water
• People who work in industries or have hobbies that expose them to lead

How doctors diagnose lead poisoning

Your child’s healthcare provider will perform a physical exam. They’ll also ask you about your child’s lead poisoning symptoms. Many providers do routine screenings for lead in children who live in high-risk zip codes. This is to make sure they haven’t been exposed to lead, even if they have no symptoms.

To diagnose the condition, your child will need a blood lead test. This test measures the amount of lead in your child’s blood. This is called the blood lead level. Any detectable amount of lead in your child’s blood means they’ve had exposure to lead.

There are two ways to do a blood lead test:

• Capillary test: Your child’s provider will prick your child’s finger or heel to get a sample of their blood. A capillary test produces quick results. But high results will lead to a second test to confirm.
• Blood draw: Your child’s provider will take a sample of your child’s blood through a vein in their arm. This test takes longer to produce results. But it can confirm the results of a capillary test.

Additional tests that your child’s provider may order include:

• Anemia screening
• Iron storage
• X-ray of your child’s stomach and intestines

An anemia screening may be included with a test called a CBC (complete blood count) or hemoglobin. An X-ray can show flecks of paint that may be visible and would require further treatment.

How is lead poisoning treated?

Lead poisoning treatment begins by identifying the source of the exposure. Once you’ve figured out where your child was exposed to lead, you can take steps to stay away from the source and remove it. Ask your child’s healthcare team for guidance.

Your child’s provider may also recommend making sure your child eats foods high in vitamin C, iron and calcium. This can help lower the lead levels in their blood while keeping their immune system strong. They’ll probably also want your child to have routine follow-up blood testing. Early diagnosis of any future cases of lead poisoning can help reduce long-term effects.

How do you flush lead out of a child’s body?

If your child’s blood lead levels are very high, your child’s healthcare provider may treat them with chelation therapy. This lead toxicity treatment binds to the lead in your child’s blood and makes it easier for their body to get rid of it.

Your child’s provider may also recommend whole-bowel irrigation. With this procedure, your child’s provider gives your child a special solution called polyethylene glycol by mouth or through a stomach tube to wash out the contents of their stomach and intestines. Providers use bowel irrigation to prevent further lead absorption if they find lead paint chips on an X-ray of your child’s belly.

Can lead poisoning be reversed in adults?

The effects of lead poisoning aren’t reversible. But you can reduce blood lead levels and prevent further exposure by finding and removing the sources of lead from your home or environment.

What is the outlook for lead toxicity?

The outlook for lead poisoning has improved dramatically since chelation therapy was introduced. Improvements in critical care have also allowed for better treatments. And there are more local and government resources to help identify and repair sources of lead in homes and water pipes.

Many more children now survive the condition. But survivors of lead poisoning will typically have severe health complications. Long-term effects can include intellectual disabilities, seizure disorders and stroke-like symptoms. Your child will most likely need lifelong care.

What can I do to reduce my child’s risk of lead toxicity?

Lead poisoning is preventable. If you live in a house or apartment in the U.S. built before 1978, talk to your state or local health department about having your home’s paint and dust tested for lead. If you rent your home, talk to your landlord about peeling and flaking paint. Call the health department if the paint isn’t safely repaired.

Stagnant or hot water can leach lead into your tap water if you have lead pipes. So, let your faucet run cold water for one minute before using it for drinking, cooking or making baby formula.

Talk to your child’s healthcare provider about other ways you can reduce your child’s risk. They may suggest ideas, like:

• Making sure your child eats healthy foods that are high in iron, calcium and vitamin C
• Washing your child’s hands, bottles, pacifiers and toys frequently
• Always washing your hands before eating
• Always wiping your feet before entering the house and leaving your shoes at the door
• Wiping floors and other surfaces with a damp mop or cloth regularly
• Not trying to remove lead-based paint yourself
• Avoiding any home remedies that contain lead

What can adults do to prevent lead poisoning?

If you work with lead or are at risk of coming into contact with lead dust, you should:

• Use personal protective equipment
• Change your clothing and shoes after work
• Shower when you get home

Should I be concerned about lead poisoning if I’m pregnant?

Avoid exposure to lead if you’re pregnant. A fetus can be harmed by lead poisoning even before birth. If your blood lead levels are too high, it can:

• Increase your risk for miscarriage
• Cause preterm labor
• Damage the fetus’s brain, nervous system and kidneys