MEDICAL SURFARI: GET THE LEAD OUT

As our children grow and develop so do their brains and the remainder of their nervous systems. This development is exceedingly complex and the nervous system is especially sensitive during this time. If it is exposed to adverse elements during development it may be permanently harmed.

Lead is an element that has no known biological benefit to humans. In fact, it is well known that it may cause harm to virtually every system in the body as it can damage the kidneys, the nervous system, the reproductive system and it may cause high blood pressure. Exceedingly high blood lead levels may cause devastating health consequences including seizures, coma and even death. Children with significant lead exposure may develop learning disabilities, behavior problems, and even mental retardation.

Adults working with lead or lead products and young children are at the highest risk for the adverse health effects of lead exposure. In 1975 the Center for Disease Control first issued guidance on the prevention of child lead poisoning and it has maintained its position that lead exposure is a major preventable childhood health problem throughout the United States. The CDC has made recommendations to improve the effectiveness of lead screening in young children from birth to 72 months of age who are potentially exposed to lead. These efforts have effectively reduced lead poisoning although there are still nearly one million children in the United States with elevated blood lead levels.

The majority of homes built before 1978 in the United States have been painted with lead-based paint. In fact, the older the house, the more likely it is to contain lead-based paint. Those of you who are parents know, and I can certainly attest by my ten-month-old daughter's behavior, that very young children go through an oral stage wherein they are compelled to process nearly everything that they encounter by touching it with their mouth or by tasting it. Children who develop lead poisoning do so by chewing on objects painted with lead-based paint or by consuming peeling paint chips from older homes in disrepair.

Since children absorb lead more readily than adults and since their developing nervous system is particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of lead, prevention is the key to protecting these children. The effects of lead poisoning are long term and may be irreversible.

Lead hazards must be identified and controlled before children are poisoned. Successful prevention will require a comprehensive and concerted effort between those who are dedicated and who have decision power in health care, environmental protection and housing. That pretty much includes all of us.

Worldwide Web Resources

Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

www.cdc.gov/nceh/programs/lead/lead.htm

This web site is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and includes new guidance on lead screening as well as facts on lead poisoning.

EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics

www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/index/html

The National Lead Information Center operates under a contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and provides the general public and professionals with information about lead hazards and their prevention.

Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning

www.aeclp.org/bl.html

This web site provides some basic facts about lead poisoning and stresses the importance of prevention as a means of protecting our children from the effects of lead poisoning.

Dr. Scott Gibbs is a neurosurgeon and editor-in-chief of Mosby's Medical Surfari. You may e-mail questions to him at drgibbs@semissourian.com or write in care of the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701.