Lead test?

[Auroara Bobcat]

Hey there mamas. I am just wondering have you or do you plane on having your one year old tested for lead? I am getting all these things in the mail saying that it is time for my one year old to be tested for lead. I have not vaccinated her so I do not know if she is ready to be stuck with a needle. KWIM? What do you all think?

Thanks in advance.

[staceychev]

Please do it.

My daughter, now five, was tested as part of her routine 1 year screening and came back with a lead level of 47. When the doctor called, he said "Pack a bag for you and Lucy. You have to be admitted to the hospital this afternoon." She had to be hospitalized and immediately chelated and it was really horrible and scary. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that, but I also wouldn't want anyone to have to deal with the whole host of physical, behavioral and developmental issues that can come from lead exposure. We're lucky that we caught DD's in time--we think--and there don't seem to be any intellectual or developmental issues. Only time will tell with the behavioral ones. The only thing that put us in a risk category was that the house we lived in at the time was built in the 1960s, and we thought, as many people do that lead poisoning is something that poor, inner-city kids get and so we'd be immune. We were wrong.

This is no offense intended to you at all, Vanessa, but I see a lot of a mamas on MDC who don't want to do the lead test because they don't vax and they see "no-vax" as being "no-needle." Lead poisoning is really nasty stuff, and can be corrected with environmental changes, nutritional changes and, if bad enough, medical intervention. It's better to know what you're dealing with so that you can work to correct it if you have to. If you take the tack that you don't want to stick your LO with a needle (and honestly, what mama likes doing that?) and skip out on it, you miss the chance to catch something very harmful that could be fixed.

[petey44]

I agree 100% with stacychev!

[MamaJenese]

I love in a city in a building over 100 years old.I did not even think twice about it. We got the test and I am so happy we did.

[P.J.]

Originally Posted by staceychev

Please do it.

My daughter, now five, was tested as part of her routine 1 year screening and came back with a lead level of 47. When the doctor called, he said "Pack a bag for you and Lucy. You have to be admitted to the hospital this afternoon." She had to be hospitalized and immediately chelated and it was really horrible and scary. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that, but I also wouldn't want anyone to have to deal with the whole host of physical, behavioral and developmental issues that can come from lead exposure. We're lucky that we caught DD's in time--we think--and there don't seem to be any intellectual or developmental issues. Only time will tell with the behavioral ones. The only thing that put us in a risk category was that the house we lived in at the time was built in the 1960s, and we thought, as many people do that lead poisoning is something that poor, inner-city kids get and so we'd be immune. We were wrong.

This is no offense intended to you at all, Vanessa, but I see a lot of a mamas on MDC who don't want to do the lead test because they don't vax and they see "no-vax" as being "no-needle." Lead poisoning is really nasty stuff, and can be corrected with environmental changes, nutritional changes and, if bad enough, medical intervention. It's better to know what you're dealing with so that you can work to correct it if you have to. If you take the tack that you don't want to stick your LO with a needle (and honestly, what mama likes doing that?) and skip out on it, you miss the chance to catch something very harmful that could be fixed.

Thank you for sharing this. I would be in the category of "not gonna happen to us" since we are sooo careful with toxins. But actually our house was built in the 60s ~ German post-war where everything was built cheap and quick, and I have no idea if the pipes are lead, if there's asbestos, etc etc....so there's really only so much we can control. We also could not afford to have our house painted in special eco-friendly paint, although I guess lead is not used in common housepaint anymore right?
Anyway what I'm saying is you've convinced me to at the very least ask our pedi about it (not sure if it's something covered by insurance here or what). Thank you.

[Mom2M]

We always do the lead test for the reasons above, our house is over a 100 years old and even though it's been a long time since lead paint was used, it's not out of the question that some of the areas with peeling paint might have lead.
It is very serious and cause long lasting damage to your child if they have a high lead level.
Stacychev, I'm so glad your DD is ok, that must have been scary!

[ivymae]

When/if you have a blood draw done, don't feel bad asking for the phlebotomist with the most pediatric experience. As someone with tiny, hard to find veins, I do not worry about being polite - I want it done right, the first time.

[tzs]

yes yes yes...100% plus some.
not vaxing is a choice you make weighing health risks on both sides....not testing for lead is IMO just being crunchy for the sake of being crunchy.
i actually had them do it early at dd's 9 month because we live in an old home with peeling paint and sure enough it came back high. not like pp "high" but high enough that we were going to have to make some serious changes. it was frightening but nice to know that we had done it and that there were measures that could be taken. on venous retest we came back normal.
usually the first test will just be a finger prick which dd just had another done today and didn't even cry. not at all. we got the results in 5 minutes.
also, in going through an older "lead poisoning" thread on mdc, there were a couple people on there whose dc's had gotten it from a residence other than their own so better to err on the side of caution.

[JudiAU]

I choose to do it. Not required in my state. Stats were fine but vie known people wi very high levels.

[ErinYay]

I requested V get it at 6 months, as we had just purchased our "new" 80-year-old house 2 weeks prior. Since I'm the handyperson in the family, and nursing, I wanted a baseline to compare to her 12-month draw.

Lead isn't just found in old homes- soil can also contain high levels, and if you're nursing, whatever lead you're exposed to (or were in the past that was trapped "safely" in your bones until pregnancy/nursing) can also impact your baby. Some communities also have absurdly high levels of lead in the drinking water.

We were lucky that our ped's office (private-yet-affiliated practice) is located in the medical park for the hospital, so went to the lab to have the draw. I've heard the heel-prick method can be pretty traumatic, though the arm-draw was no walk in the park.

It sure beats irreversible brain damage, though. With vaccines, the damage is possible. With lead poisoning, the damage is certain.

[angelpie545]

My older kids were never offered the test, that I can remember. I will certainly ask my pediatrician about it when my ds turns one year old. We aren't high risk (we live in apartments that were built in the 1980s, no other risk factors) but I'd still feel better knowing rather than not.