The facts about lead
By SEAN KILROY

Ellijay, Ga- North Georgia Medical Center has received dozens of concerned calls from parents regarding their children's toys over the last few weeks. The public outreach has been so great that we wanted to create a public service announcement for the community regarding the recent lead scare.

We interviewed Ellijay's resident Pediatric Specialist-- Oscar Febles, M.D. of Gilmer Pediatrics--to discuss the latest media reports of lead paint used in the manufacturing of children's toys and here's what we found out.

A stick test is a preliminary measure and a good start. It may let you know the presence of lead in the child's system above 10 micrograms/deciliter of blood but it doesn't let you know just how much. To determine that you need to perform secondary testing that requires a little more bloodwork--but it's worth it to know where you stand if the stick comes back positive. Now, naturally, a human being should have absolutely no lead in their body- zero micrograms/deciliter - but, typically, there are no obvious and visible symptoms of lead poisoning until the levels of lead approach nearly 40 micrograms/ deciliter in the blood- which is referred to as a level III classification of lead infiltration according to the CDC. At this point, lead levels are quite serious and require additional medical therapy to safely remove this heavy metal from the system.

The good news is that if you remove the lead-bearing item from the child, or remove the child from the lead-containing environment, levels begin to decrease. If lead is at a dangerously high level (e.g. 40 mcg/dcl or above) the responsible thing to do is begin chelation therapy. Chelation therapy introduces an anti-biotic into the patient's system that binds with the lead (or other heavy metal) rendering it harmless to the system and allowing it to be easily excreted and removed from the body. The real danger with lead is being exposed to a significant amount of it, consistently over a long period of time- allowing a dangerous amount of lead to "build up" in the body. Lead poisoning is a cumulative thing- just like when you hear of somebody being poisoned by arsenic by being slowly dosed over time (Like Napoleon was)- lead can accumulate and ultimately become fatal if exposure is prolonged. In other words, the most important thing you can do is get the lead out. Take the toys away immediately.

What To Look For

If someone is exposed to a significant amount of lead (40mcg/dcl or higher) sometimes they develop anemia, stomach pain and there is often an effect to the nervous system. In some cases, children that are diagnosed with mental retardation or hyperactivity may be responding to unusually high exposure to lead. Any child diagnosed with ADHD should be tested to see if they have lead in their system. Long-term lead contamination has also been linked to schizophrenia.

Sources Of Lead

Despite the latest concern over children's toys, it is actually a very atypical source of lead exposure. Believe it or not, the #1 source for lead in the body actually comes from paint. Houses and buildings that were constructed prior to 1980 commonly have lead paint and lead elements used in their construction. Interestingly enough the three paint colors with the highest lead concentration from this era are white, yellow and redcolored paints. If you feel you may have lead paint in your house make sure to strip it and NOT sand it off your walls and moldings. Sanding lead-based paint creates inhalable dust that just makes it more easily absorbed by the systems of those exposed to it and certainly harder to clean up completely. Another odd source of lead exposure comes through contact with some Venetian blinds. Doctor Febles cited a few cases where Venetian blinds were a culprit of elevated lead exposure but carefully noted that these cases are extremely rare.

Additionally, what you do for a living may also be transporting lead into your environment. Plumbers, people that work with pottery and those that work with tinted glass might bring lead dust home with them which can be a source of exposure to children. If you work in these professions you might want to have yourself and your families tested at regular intervals to determine if lead levels are elevated in the body.

Check With Your Physician

If you believe that you have cause for concern with you, or your children's, exposure to lead please check in with your family physician. Many local physicians, including Dr. Febles, always ask questions about lead exposure of patients in their initial visits, but if you feel like your family may be at an elevated risk it certainly can't hurt to get checked out.