Safety day in Cape attracts children for lead testing

The friendly atmosphere at Fire Station No. 1 on Sprigg Street captured Adam Childers' trust.

Surrounded by nurses, a few firefighters and his dad, Adam, 3, was all ready to get his finger pricked for his lead test. He even held that finger out to LaRue McAllister, public health nurse with the Cape Girardeau County Health Department.

Then he saw the needle. "No boo-boo on finger!" Adam shouted.

That was enough for Chris Childers, Adam's dad, who said he was really just there for the fire department open house, of which the testing was a small segment.

Altogether, 21 children ages 1 to 6 were tested for free at Health and Safety Day on Saturday at two fire stations in Cape Girardeau. The test takes only about 30 seconds, and parents will be mailed the results in about two weeks.

Public health officials said the reason why it's important for children to be tested at this age is that they're more inclined to be crawling around touching surfaces that may contain lead and then put their fingers in their mouths.

About one in every 11 children in the United States has high levels of lead in his blood. Missouri blood-lead testing data from 2001 showed nearly 4,000 children under the age of 6 in the state were identified as having elevated levels.

According to the National Safety Council, exposure to excessive levels of lead can cause brain damage, affect a child's growth, damage kidneys, impair hearing, cause vomiting, headaches and appetite loss and cause learning and behavioral problems. Fetuses, infants and children are more vulnerable to lead exposure than adults since lead is more easily absorbed into their growing bodies.

Jacqueline Crawford, 6, had already been filled in about how awful the procedure was by her 11-year-old brother. She was a little nervous but went through with it. "Yes, it did hurt," she said later.

Their mother, Jennifer, said the test took a lot more blood when her son had it. While she was not overly concerned about her daughter's exposure to lead, she decided to take advantage of the health department's testing.

"It's free, she's still 6 and this was a good opportunity," Jennifer Crawford said.

There are ways parents can protect their children against exposure to lead. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children not eat without first washing their hands, play areas be kept as dust-free and clean as possible, pacifiers and bottles be washed if they fall on the floor and to mop floors and wipe window ledges and any chewable surface with a solution of powdered automatic dishwasher detergent in warm water twice weekly. Toys and stuffed animals should be washed regularly.

Any house or apartment built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Most paint made after 1978 contains no intentionally added lead, since it was banned from use on interiors and exteriors of homes.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133