Preventing Lead Poisoning

Nutritional Information Preventing Lead Exposure in Young Children A Housing-Based Approach to Primary Prevention of Lead Poisoning. Preventing Lead Poisoning: Avoid contact with chipping, flaking, or peeling paint on any house built before 1978. Exposure to pre-1978 paint chips accounts for the vast majority of lead poisoning cases in the United States. If your house has chipping, flaking, or peeling paint, take the necessary precautions outlined on our brochure entitled What Buyers, Renters, and Sellers Should Know About Lead-Based Paint Hazards. If you are concerned about lead poisoning, get tested. Since many lead poisoned children or adults experience no or few symptoms in the early stages of lead poisoning, it is very difficult to tell if someone is lead poisoned. Slow, gradual changes in a child's neurological, psychological, and physical development can result from lead poisoning, and this is often hard to pick up on! The only way to know for sure if you or your children are lead poisoned is to get tested. The longer you wait, the more damage the lead can do.

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• If you are concerned about lead poisoning, get tested. Since many lead poisoned children or adults experience no or few symptoms in the early stages of lead poisoning, it is very difficult to tell if someone is lead poisoned. Slow, gradual changes in a child's neurological, psychological, and physical development can result from lead poisoning, and this is often hard to pick up on! The only way to know for sure if you or your children are lead poisoned is to get tested. The longer you wait, the more damage the lead can do.

• Clean your home regularly. If your home was built before 1978, regular cleaning can prevent lead dust exposure from becoming a problem. Check your home for chipping, flaking, or peeling paint on windowsills, window well, doors, porches, and outside areas. Chipping, flaking, or peeling paint is the number one source of exposure to lead, especially for young children. Wet mop your floors and porches and clean your windowsills with warm water and a cleanser containing tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) or an automatic dishwashing powder that has phosphates in it. Vacuum all your carpets and wood floors and dispose of your vacuum's bag after use. If you are an asthmatic, wear a dust mask (from a hardware store). When vacuuming, the most efficient way to remove lead dust by vacuuming is to use a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA)-filtered vacuum cleaner. These vacuums can be purchased at common department stores and hardware stores. Clean moldy surfaces with a cleaner containing bleach; however, do not mix bleach and ammonia, as this can be toxic. If you want to save money, you can mix your own bleach cleaner by purchasing a reusable spray bottle and mixing one-part liquid bleach with three parts of water. If you follow these recommendations and clean your home frequently, you will dramatically reduce the risk of exposure to lead and to many other toxins in your home.

• Use doormats

• Request an environmental investigation. If someone in your household is lead poisoned, you may qualify for a free environmental inspection from the health department to determine what your source(s) of exposure may be. If no one in your household has tested positive for lead, but you are concerned about lead hazard, there is a fee for this inspection service. For more information, call our Environmental Health staff at (727) 507-4336 extension 1361.

• If you or someone in your household is lead poisoned, avoid any hobbies, occupations, or activities that put you at-risk for lead exposure. If you cannot avoid these activities, take the necessary precautions.

• Reduce, avoid, or eliminate other sources of exposure. Although unique sources of exposure (e.g. miniblinds, water contamination, use of folk or ethnic remedies) account for only a small percentage of lead poisoning cases, they still need to be taken seriously. If you are already exposed to lead in any way, these other sources of exposure will only worsen your condition. The more lead in your system, the worse the damage.

• Eat a healthy diet. What do we mean by a healthy diet? First off, avoid too many fatty foods in your diet. Not only does a high-fat diet cause all kinds of health problems, it also makes it easier for your body to absorb lead. Make sure you get plenty of calcium, vitamin C, and iron-rich foods in your diet.

• Get plenty of exercise. Keep your blood flowing! Keep burning fat. Staying active can help increase your metabolism, which may make it easier for your body to eliminate lead.