# blood lead levels



## eriemom (Mar 18, 2009)

I'm a first time mom who is very concerned about lead. we had our DD tested at 6 months, and her level was 3. has anyone else had their LO tested and if so, what was the level?


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

I don't think they treat under 10. My kids have all been 'fine', I have no exact #.


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## rere (Apr 21, 2005)

My daughter was tested yesterday.Her level was 3.The Dr.said it should be under 10 so she was well under.


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## MichelleAnnette (Aug 20, 2006)

My son was tested twice b/c we have lead paint in our house. At 9 months, it was 3. At 12 months, it was 6. If you think your child is exposed to lead regularly, you might want to consider testing on an ongoing basis to make sure the level does not go above 10. Not that any amount is good, but above 10 definitely is bad and the lead needs to be found and removed.


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## Heidi74 (Jan 21, 2009)

My DS was tested a few weeks ago, and the results came back yesterday. His was a 2. The ped. said that this level meant that it was barely detectable, and absolutely no need for concern.

We do live in a house with lead paint (even in his room), and the ped said that we should do another test when he is around 2...just to make sure it's still low. He is 19 months old now, but he has only lived in this apartment for about 5 months. As long as the next test is also low, he didn't see a need for further testing.


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## Meems (Jan 8, 2007)

DD was tested at 11 months and 17 months. Both tests were below 5 and I wanted to have her retested at age 2 and our ped said that it is rare to find a child w/ a lead level of 0. I was really worried and he said that there is absolutely no reason to worry b/c it is only when levels are above 30 that there is a need for real concern. so i stopped worrying


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## tree-hugger (Jul 18, 2007)

I hesitate to post this because I don't want people to worry, but I think the state of current research on low level lead exposure needs to be better publicized.

No blood lead level has been conclusively demonstrated to be without harmful effects.

Blood lead levels as low as 2 during childhood are associated with reduced IQ, attention disorders, and criminal behavior later in life.

The RATE of decline in IQ is greater at levels below 10 than above 10.

While the CDC sets 10 as the magic number, above which the blood lead level is "too high," there is no evidence that a threshold exists at this level and that harm does not occur from blood lead levels below 10.

There is also evidence that adults suffer a number of problems from even low level exposure to lead.

My child tested 2.1 for blood lead level at 9 months. I tested at 1.0. I tested our water, soil, all of her toys, our dishes, and many other household items. I found lead in the toys and our plates. I replaced our dinnerware with lead free dinnerware and replaced her toys with toys from Plan Toys, which are consistently free of heavy metals.

My doctor initially said that her blood lead level is below 10 and told me that the CDC says to worry if it is over 10. I did my own research on the subject and presented her with a lot of evidence that BLL below 10 are damaging. She said that she completely agreed with that and that the CDC level being set at 10 is not evidence-based. She also told me that she frequently sees kids with a BLL of zero, even though we are located in a large urban area. So if a BLL of zero is feasible, then I want to bring my child's BLL down from 2.1.

There is a LOT of evidence out there about this. Here are just a few articles to get you started. For more info, try searching pubmed.

http://healthfullife.umdnj.edu/archi...in_archive.htm
http://www.ehw.org/Lead/LEAD_Lower_Levels.htm
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may...nce/sci-lead28
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17868654?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez. Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.P ubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=3&log$=relatedarticles& logdbfrom=pubmed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum


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## eriemom (Mar 18, 2009)

yes, i am aware of the research. but then i remember in the not too distant past, like when i was a child, blood lead levels on average were a 10! i try my absolute best to identify and keep all sources of lead out of my apartment and away from my dd, but i can't put her in a bubble (as much as i'd like to sometimes). besides, just because you test at a zero at one moment in time, doesn't mean there's never been any lead in your blood.


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## Redheaded_Momma (Nov 8, 2006)

Ds had a lead level of 6 at 12 months. He was asymptomatic so I didn't worrry too much. THe health dept called me b/c of Dr. request and gave me advice on how to prevent an increase in his lead level and the stuff they told me is stuff I was already doing ie washing his hands after being outside, cleaning floors regularly, not to mouth window seals etc.

My ped. also said lead levels tend to peak at age 2.


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## SweetPotato (Apr 29, 2006)

I would do a repeat test (they're not terribly accurate) and do some testing in your home. Lead Inspector tests detect much lower levels than Lead Check for toys, dishes, etc. If you know of lead paint in your home, re-painting with lead free paint over top of it is an easy way to prevent exposure (make sure not to do any dry scraping of suspected lead paint)- it's also a good idea to test/check friction points in a home, such as where windows slide up and down, where doors or cabinets rub upon opening and closing, etc.

I've done entirely too much research on this, since we found lead paint on the exterior trim of our old house. We had it repainted by someone whohas experience in dealing with lead paint (a lot of people would have dry scraped it- which would have created a very dangerous situation) My dds level rose to 3 when she was almost 2yo, at which point I tested all her toys, etc. and threw out some. I had her retested and it had gone back down to 1. I'm always SHOCKED when I find out that people, who pay $$ for organic food, etc. completely ignore the danger of lead paint in their homes. This is a poison that irreversably harms the brain. Not something to be carefree about, in my opinion.


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## tree-hugger (Jul 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SweetPotato* 
I'm always SHOCKED when I find out that people, who pay $$ for organic food, etc. completely ignore the danger of lead paint in their homes. This is a poison that irreversably harms the brain. Not something to be carefree about, in my opinion.

ITA

If you're (generic you) going to start doing things to try to reduce lead exposure, I suggest identifying the source of the lead first. Otherwise, you might spend a lot of time and effort that will not result in reducing your child's lead exposure. For example, if your house was built after lead paint was banned, then keeping your kid from chewing on the windowsills will not be likely to reduce their lead exposure. Lead can come from tap water, dinnerware, glasses, toys, paint, furniture, clothes, jewelry, soil, household dust. Once you find the source of the lead, depending on where the problem is, it may be relatively easy to remove it. In our case, the lead source was a few toys and our everyday dinnerware--that was a cheap and easy fix. Also, now I KNOW that our soil, household dust, and water do not contain lead and so I don't use up energy worrying about those potential lead sources.

You can test your water for lead inexpensively here. http://www.leadtesting.org/ Legally, plumbing can be marketed as lead free even if it does contain some lead.

Legally, dinnerware can also be marketed as lead free even if it does contain lead. Corelle vitreous glass is 100% lead free and is inexpensive.

Many toys have been tested for heavy metals. You can search here to see if your toys have been tested. http://www.healthytoys.org/

If your house contains lead paint, it must be contained by a lead remediation specialist because normal renovation procedures can make the lead problem much worse.


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## eriemom (Mar 18, 2009)

If you have found lead in your toys, have you let the cpsc or other agency know about it, so that other children aren't at risk?

i believe my little one's source of exposure after using some of the lead check kits was our brass house keys. i never let her play with them, but i didn't think of washing my hands after using them. now i know and hopefully her levels go down for the next test.


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## Meems (Jan 8, 2007)

I did a bunch of lead check tests and could not find anything in my house that tested positive. I have heard, though, that many keys contain lead. I used to let DD jingle them... who knows if that was it or not?

In regards to the low levels and neurological effects, I think that most of those studies were done on children with long term exposure... and I think that IQ is a hard thing to factor in there... JMO.

The place that I arrived after much much worrying was that I could drive myself crazy or accept that there are toxins everyone... most of which we don't even test for. All I can do as a parent is to be as aware as I can and be proactive about my LO's health. Washing hands, limiting MIC toys (now that she's older she plays w/ toys from other's homes... at playgroup and such) and not having antiques and such in our home...

As an aside, our friend's child tested at a 14 and the state inspected their home, yard, playground, etc and found no lead. She said they swabbed her walls, furniture, everything in their house. Nothing. His levels came down and they still don't know what it was. I read somewhere that if it is less than 4 maybe? that it probably is not anything in your home.... who knows???

I have also read that enhancing your child's diet can help reduce lead levels by helping them rid their bodies of toxins. I think it was iron, Vit C and Calcium.


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

I live in Philly. And live in a house that is over 100 years old. At 13 months ds' lead level was 10. I need to take him back for another test, but haven't yet.

The things is that if you live in a area with old homes/factories/older city in general there is lead in the soil so if you go outside BAM! lead. So we take our shoes off when we come in, we wet mop, we wash hands, we eat healthy.

I was upset at first becasue of ds' lead levels, but the thing is that in this city almost every child is high. Its the "nature of the beast." We do what we can, but I'm at the point where I am not freakin' over it anymore.

(Seriously though, if ds' 2nd test came back 3 I would have a celebration party!!!







)


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## amlikam (Nov 19, 2008)

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## fancyoats (Jun 12, 2008)

there is a looooong thread in h&h titled "mamas dealing with elevated blood lead levels"
lots of good information/discussion there.

here in RI it is state law that every child between the ages of 9 months and 59 months be tested once per year. any number over 10 and the health department gets involved. our dd's level was 17. we drove ourselves crazy swabbing every surface in our house and found only one positive -- our 40 year old fridge. that day we went to sears and bought a new fridge. we also bought a hepa vac in case we were tracking lead dust in from outside. we wet-cleaned every surface in the house and now we always take off our shoes. we give dd an iron supplement. we made that "chelation cilantro pesto" and ate it all the time. three months later, dd's level is a 7. the social workers closed our case file, since her number was under ten. personally, i would be ecstatic to find out that dd was a 2.


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## tree-hugger (Jul 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eriemom* 
If you have found lead in your toys, have you let the cpsc or other agency know about it, so that other children aren't at risk?

Unfortunately, it is perfectly legal for toys to contain lead (and other toxic heavy metals) as long as it is below a certain limit.

Also, according to http://www.healthytoys.org/, toys made in the US are about as likely to contain heavy metals as toys made in China.


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## eriemom (Mar 18, 2009)

meems--
i've read that, too, about children's diet and lead. at the time i got my daughter tested, she was only on breastmilk, so maybe it'll go down further next time since she's on fortified cereal.

i just am such a worrier and with all the research and studies that go on, it's enough to make a parent crazy. but then i'm surprised that we are not all criminals with ADHD because our blood lead levels were a heck of a lot higher when we were young! but seriously, i know lead is nothing to take lightly, and we do our best to protect our children with what we've got, but i guess freaking over it won't help any. it just gets so overwhelming and scary sometimes...


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## SweetPotato (Apr 29, 2006)

I just had to respond again. Lead Check is NOT sensitive enough to detect undesoirable lead levels in toys, dishes, etc. It's made to detect the levels common in housepaint-- look at this color guide form their website: http://www.leadcheck.com/PB-51LeadCh...uide-Paint.pdf If you look at the bottom row of pictures, which are virtually indistinguishable, the one on the far right is how Lead Check swabs appear after contact with a surface having 3000 ppm lead!! For reference, the current US standard for recall of a toy is 600ppm, and the American Academyof Pediatrics wants it lowered to 40ppm. Lead Inspector brand can clearly show results under 50 ppm http://www.leadinspector.com/testing.html I started with Lead Check at our home, and it only showed positive results on the exterior trim paint. Retesting with Lead Inspector showed a couple of dd's favorite toys to be unsafe (particularly a vinyl inflatable globe that she handled ALL the time and it never would have occurred to me to even wash her hands after-- it has been reported and disposed of) Seriously- it's worth the peace of mind.


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

Sweet Potato, thanks for the link to Lead Inspector. I plan to order those!


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## Meems (Jan 8, 2007)

sweet potato, thanks for the link as well. i think i may buy some to test a few things... i have a suspect "recycled" bookshelf, and it has old shutters as the sides... it has been painted, but i am suspicious! i will pass along the info to others i know concerned about lead in their homes.


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## magnoliasmama (Sep 8, 2008)

Just scanning through this thread briefly... dd is almost 10 months and I am very worried about the approximately 100 year old house that we live in. I plan on having the place tested soon.

My question is... who is responsible for lead cleanup in a landlord/tenant situation? Does the landlord have a legal responsibility like they would in other situations. Like I said, our house is very old, and we do have peeling paint in places.


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## eriemom (Mar 18, 2009)

magnoliasmama: i think it depends on what state you live in and what the laws are. I think in some states the landlord has to clean it up if there is a young child living there. In PA, we've signed a release that basically says our landlord doesn't have any idea whether or not there is lead paint in the apartment, and we acknowledge this, basically getting them off the hook.


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## magnoliasmama (Sep 8, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eriemom* 
magnoliasmama: i think it depends on what state you live in and what the laws are. I think in some states the landlord has to clean it up if there is a young child living there. In PA, we've signed a release that basically says our landlord doesn't have any idea whether or not there is lead paint in the apartment, and we acknowledge this, basically getting them off the hook.

I live in California. We also signed a standard form alerting the tenant to the possibility of lead exposure. I've actually signed one of these forms for every rental I have lived in. It seems like a ridiculous loop hole to allow children to be exposed to a toxic substance because the landlord has the tenant sign a form. In other dangerous situations, the law protects a tenant from signing their basic rights to live in a healthy environment away. Issues regarding lead toxicity and cleanup should be no different

Does anyone know about landlord/tenant issues regarding lead clean-up in California.


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