Reducing Your Child's Blood Lead Riskby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Dec 2008 12:11 PM
So how can you reduce your child's risk of having high levels of lead exposure? Here are some answers. The number one risk for lead exposure comes from lead paint used in houses before the 1950s. Homes built before 1970 may also contain lead paint. Lead can get into your child's body through lead dust that escapes to the floor from old windows being opened and closed or through home renovation. If you live in an older home, hire professionals to renovate and make it a habit to mop the floors each day. Soil is another source of lead for your child. Soil in high traffic areas tends to contain large amounts of lead. Discourage your child from playing in the dirt, have everyone take off their shoes when entering your home and make sure that your child's hands are washed whenever she comes in from outside. Your normal drinking water can also be a source of lead, because of lead pipes that may carry the water to your faucet. Water filtering systems may not remove lead. In this case, always run the water in your faucets for a few minutes in the morning to dispel any lead that might have leached into the water from the pipes overnight. Never run hot water for drinking. Hot water tends to leach out more lead than cold water. Use hot water directly from the tap for washing dishes not for drinking. Other sources of lead risk to your child include lead toys or toys made with lead paint and ceramic pottery. Studies have shown that iron-deficient children absorb more lead, so make sure your child has a diet rich in iron and talk to your pediatrician about iron supplementation. Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans. Safety Alert! Traces of Melamine in U.S. Formula Cutting Corners On Formula Could Be Fatal Caffeine Linked to Underweight Babies
Just look to the right of this blog and find the subscription center (it looks just like this picture, although you'll have to find the "real" one just above the category listing ). Click on "Subscribe via Email". You'll be instantly subscribed and the email address that you registered at Families.com with will receive an instant notification whenever we post a new Baby Blog! Don't miss a thing - subscribe now! Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantbaby tags User Comments Samual (11722) 16 Dec 2008 12:25 PMWell those with higher IQ's are far more likely to be alcoholics, so maybe we should be feeding them lead.......  drnewmom (307) 17 Dec 2008 07:01 AMMy theory is that those with higher IQs are less likely to be understood and feel separated from everybody else. One way to cope with the isolation is to "dumb yourself down" with drugs or alcohol, or let them numb your feelings. There are/were a lot of geniuses that "went mad" -- I believe, among other things, their isoation from others (real or percieved) contributes to that. Anyhow, rather than feeding my little guy lead in the off chance it might damage his brain just enough to lower his future IQ to a "safer" range, I think I'll just encourage him to find more appropriate outlets for his feelings and try to provide him with the resources to stay connected to people and society in a healthy way. Community Tags baby, baby proofing, Infant Safety, lead risk, lead recall Discuss this article
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