Experts decode germs' DNA to fight food poisoning

A new meaning of lead poisoning in children in the United States has been established, with blood reference values lowered, from 5 to 3.5. The update comes in response to the Lead Exposure Prevention and Advisory Committee recommendation made in May.

The committee proposed lowering the reference value to 3.5 so that implementations can be made at a local level when it comes to practicality, which the committee said was important when considering what children’s blood lead levels to recommend as the official action level.

It is easier to identify a particular source of exposure when the environmental investigation levels are higher, but this becomes more difficult with lower blood lead levels.

Health departments, health care providers and others are encouraged to focus resources on children with the highest blood lead levels compared to most U.S. children ages 1 to 5 so more prompt actions can be taken to reduce their levels, mitigate health effects and identify and eliminate sources of exposure.

“There’s no level of lead exposure that is safe,” said Dr. Mike Austin, pediatrician at UT Health, “but you have to have some breakdown of when you get concerned about it.”

Austin said the standard has been lowered to become proactive in terms of following up. For example, if a child’s lead poisoning level is at 3.5, pediatricians will now conduct a follow level quickly after.

“Previously, if it was above 5, we would’ve done a work-up, investigated whether or not there are potential issues in the home, and now we do that at a level of 3.5, so it’s just much more inclusive to look for potential exposure,” he said.

Although Austin has only seen a handful of children with lead poisoning in East Texas at his practice within the last 25 years, he explained it is still possible to pick up lead poisoning, and the large majority of the time, pediatricians find the child is around an area where there’s been home refurbishment.

“I would say 99% of our lead exposure in Texas comes when a family will refurbish an old home,” Austin said. Though lead-based paint has been outlawed since 1978, it’s important to keep children away when scraping and sanding paint in an old home.

“Kids get into that area, play in that area, eat the lead (chips), or honestly just get it on their hands and feet, and then they eat or have their hands in their mouth, that’s where the majority of lead toxicity comes in our area,” Austin said.

In 25 years as a pediatrician in the East Texas area, the highest level of lead poisoning Austin has seen in a child was in the mid-20s, which he said is not horribly dangerous.

When it comes to lead poisoning in children, pediatricians worry about developmental concerns. Austin said the symptoms are extremely subtle and that most parents don’t realize their children have lead poisoning. For that reason, a child undergoes a blood count at their 12-month wellness checkup, where they’re tested for lead poisoning and anemia.

Symptoms of lead poisoning in children include headaches, seizures, aggressive behavior, low intelligence, long-lasting belly pain, hearing problems, slowed growth and behavior and learning problems, to name a few.

Austin recommends being cautious when sanding or scraping paint that could be older than the late 70s, as well as watching out for handmade pottery that may have glazes that contain lead.

“Those are the main things that will cause lead exposure in children,” he said.

Children who are anemic can have more profound effects of lead poisoning, so having a healthy diet with iron-containing foods is recommended, Austin said, but it shouldn’t make parents relax about the risk of lead poisoning.