Trying to NOT freak-LEAD!!!

MrsSR · August 2011

Ugh. DD has her one year well baby visit.

She had her four shots (ouch!) and a toe prick for a lead test.

It came back at a 14.1 ... "Normal" is a ten or less.

The pedi said there is a standard deviation of 4 points, which means DD is only one standard deviation above normal, so we shouldn't freak out too much just yet.

She has to go in for an intervenous blood draw (oh joy) to be tested again (and to check other things that might be causing it).

If that comes back abnormal again we'll go from there (no clue what we'll do... have someone come out here and test the house?)...

Anyone go through this?

vmm0016 · August 2011

I have no clue but I hope everything turns out okay!

NiniJ55 · August 2011

I'm not sure about Chicago -- but here in NY we can have our home water tested for free. They just mail the kit to your home, you collect the water then mail it in. I would look into this.

Also -- Is your home old - I mean the pipes? It has something to do with the pipes not necesarily the water. Does your DS drink bottled water or tap? We drink filtered tap in my house but I always run the water before doing anything -- even cooking (lead is actually worse if the water is boiled). But running the cold water for about 30 seconds does the trick.

It's especially worse first thing in the morning becuase the pipes are sitting there all night long - and that is why they always ask for your first morning water to test for lead.

Also -- do you think he is getting into paint chips or anything like that?

I hope this helps a little - I'm so sorry for what you are going through but at least they caught it early. Good luck and keep us posted.

mylittlesunshine · August 2011

Not a clue, but ((hugs)) to you before hand. DD had to be hospitalized b/c of

pneumonia and they had to draw blood out of a vein and it was not fun for any of us.

Cherryblossoms07 · August 2011

We went through this at DD's 1 year appointment. Her score also came back at 14 point something, only we were sent immediately over to the lab to have lab work done. DH and I sat worrying for 24 hours as to what it could be, turned out the pedi's equipment was malfunctioning. During that time we researched on-line all that we could. I think the local government gets involved if the lead is that high, but I cannot recall for sure and it may vary from state to state. The number one contributor seemed to be the paint in your home. Is your home old? We also went to Home Depot in those 24 hours and bought lead tests for water and surface. The water tests need to be sent into a lab. The surface tests allow you to test almost anything (from paint, to toys) at home. I went through a website for recalled toys due to lead to see if any of DD's toys showed up on the site. Those are the things we did. Hope that gives you a start to your search. Hold in there; I know how stressful it is not knowing what is harming your child.

rosesandpeonies · August 2011

i have not gone through it myself but I have seen others on the boards go through it so you are not alone. I assume depending on what her new blood draw comes back as they probably will have someone come to the house. Did the dr. give you any ideas what might cause the elevated lead level in her blood in connection to your home or lifestyle? I am so sorry your going through this, but like the dr. said it isn't that far off the realm of normal.

Thinking of you...I know it must be stressful!

meg1974 · August 2011

DD had the finger prick at 9 months and it came out a little high for her age. She then had the blood draw at one year, which is more definitive, and it was normal.

I wouldn't worry too much while you're waiting for the blood draw. I guess it's common for the blood prick test to be off a little.

You can get an over the counter lead test to test the paint in your home if you want. We got one from Lowe's, and it was positive for the original paint in some of the rooms. The paint had been painted over, so we were advised to just keep painting over the chips, vacuum often, don't open windows, etc. But, we chose to move b/c we wanted a bigger house anyway.

Kate621 · August 2011

Try not to freak out! Not sure what county you are in but I used to work for DuPage county and they have a lead program. Someone will come out and test your house and keep track of your DD's lead levels afterwards. She'll likely be tested every month until it goes back to a normal level. It won't always be a capillary draw. I know McHenry and Lake have similiar programs. Feel free to pm me if you have questions.

smerka · August 2011

Before kids, I was a licensed lead inspector/risk assessor in Illinois (I live in Aurora). If it is determined that your child has an elevated blood lead level, I'm pretty sure Illinois Department of Public Health will be notified by your doctor and they will help you figure out where it's coming from. If it comes down to it, you can hire an inspector yourself to get things tested and there's a list of licensed people on the IDPH website. PM me if you want the names of some people I know. I hope all of that is moot and the second test comes back normal!

92405bride · August 2011

My daughter had a level of 7 at 1 year which we got a call about, and they sent out a bunch of stuff to us about how to reduce levels. Basically, the biggest thing was to be better about washing hands, windows and doorways as apparently that is where most lead lives in older homes (ours was built in 1920). We were much more diligent about washing hands, which we weren't at ALL before - so we washed before every meal, nap and bedtime since she sucks her thumb. At her 15 month appt she was tested again intravenously and her level was 1. So it helped, and also a toe/finger prick can give a falsely high # if there is anything on their feet/hands too.

Carmela752 · August 2011

I'm a poison center nurse. The venous blood draw is much more accurate than the finger stick. Hopefully that one will be normal and you won't have to worry further. Lots of other great info in replies already. Good luck!

luckylittlelis · August 2011

We had this happen at LO's 1 year appointment. We tested everything we could think of in our house using the test sticks from Menards. After we thought we tested everything my DH noticed a floor lamp that sat next to our rocker. The shade was stained glass surrounded by Lead. LO would grab at it while we rocked him. It tested positive, we got rid of the lamp and the next test results came back in the normal range. Sometimes its something you would never expect, hope you find the source.

frenziedmomma · August 2011

Sorry to hear you are going through this. I do not have any direct experience with this. I am an environmental chemist though and thought I would just mention a few things.

1) The inital lead "test" is more of a screening. The results can be wrong - something called a false positive.

2) The test they will do from the blood draw will be must more accurate. Wait for this result.

3) If the test from the blood draw shows similar results then depending on the area you live, the local health department will help you know how to procede.

4) The test kits you can buy are crap. I have been involved in work on studying their effectiveness and they are not reliable. In some cases, no lead is present and you get positive result and even worse, sometimes you don't get any indication of lead when it is present even at high levels.

5) If you get to the point of having your home tested for lead make sure they use an instrument called an XRF (stand for x-ray fluorescence). This is the gold standard for testing for lead in household materials.

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