Lead Poisoning in a "Natural" Home?

[adamom]

My pediatrician's receptionist just informed me that my daughter (15 months) tested for high levels of lead. I haven't spoken with the doctor herself yet, so I still don't understand the test results, but even if the situation isn't as serious as the receptionist would have me believe, I'm still baffled at how this could have happened.

Our house is old (built in 1959), but there's no peeling paint anywhere. In fact, we painted the whole place when we moved in 1.5 years ago. My daughter doesn't have a ton of toys, but most if not all of the painted wooden ones are made by earth-friendly companies with non-toxic materials. Plus, she's never been a big one for gnawing on objects or putting things in her mouth anyway. The only thing I can think of is our drinking water, which is unfiltered municipal water. I'm looking into getting it tested, but I also wonder if there's something I'm missing. It just seems like all the traditional sources of lead don't apply to us, so it's scary to not know where it could be coming from.

[LovelyNJ]

It could be from the dirt when she plays outside I hope she gets well soon.

[MamaJenese]

Was it a blood draw or a toe prick? The toe prick test in my expereince comes up elevated often. Did with both my kids, actual blood draw was much lower. Culprit here for slight elevation would be massive older home remoldeling around our playground coupled with city living.

[adamom]

It was a blood test. The doc sent me to a specific lab because they can detect higher levels.

But I just finished reading through some older lead posts, which has me questioning the necessity for all these alarm bells. The receptionist told me my daughter's lead level is a "4". I asked her what that meant, but she couldn't provide a satisfactory reply, though she clearly expected me to be alarmed. Having read the other posts, however, 4 doesn't look so bad. Of course, there are those who say anything above a "0" is a problem, but right now the CDC's acceptable lead level is anything below 10, I don't think I need to panic yet. I'd still love to know where it's coming from.

Lead in the dirt? That's a frightening prospect. My husband and I are organic farmers, so dirt is an integral part of our lives.

[ChocolateNummies]

Have you tested your water? A house that old may have lead in the plumbing system.

Some info.

[ameliabedelia]

It could be from the dirt outside or the plumbing. Older plumbing often has lead. I think many states or counties will provide a free lead assessment to help determine the actual cause of the lead.