Moms dealing with elevated lead levels - Page 6

[gardenmom]

Originally Posted by NoraJadesMama

Hello sisters-in-lead-distress,

So... dh mentioned that a maracca had broken in the playroom. and it made a mess of metallic gray beads. Tiny. lead colored, if you will. all over the floor. It's a big room and I had never noticed. we don't know when this happened. But it's been a while. and now you can find little gray beads in the dust by the baseboards all around the room.

It's a huge room.

And here's the kicker. they're round. They roll. : so if we get one area perfect, and move something around, the lead beads can roll right on over to the perfect area.

WHY are people allowed to sell lead beads in maraccas? It was not imported. It was a little purple pastic maracca we got as a gift.

On a lighter note, those hepavacs can really SUCK! Hoo doggies, that vac is impressive!

I had this EXACT same thing happen about a year ago. Ours was a gourd maraca from the flea market, that I stupidly assumed was filled with beans or seeds. When dd broke it, tiny lead shot spilled all over our (charcoal gray) carpet! I spent a few phone calls back and forth to poison control because it was mildly possible that she ate a few. I also spent a week scraping poopy diapers with a butter knife to make sure she hadn't ingested any.

Disgusting on so many levels...

[JaneS]

What about lead in cans?

I just noticed that Muir Glen organic tomatoes come in "lead free, enamel lined cans" ... so that means there is danger in other cans?

[NoraJadesMama]

AnoriensMom you have come such a long way! What a lead abatement journey. I'm so impressed that you did so much and were able to use your resources so well --and get her lead level plummetting! Wow. Mamas are powerful beings!

lunchboxes.
maraccas.
cans.
it's such a toxic world for our little ones, sometimes I feel despair.

[AnoriensMom]

A woman today, when she saw my daughter chewing ice, said that she heard that was a sign of a vitamin defincincey, although she couldn't remember what. Doing a little research just now I found that "pagophagia" is the compulsive eating of ice that is a common symptom of a lack of iron. My dd is not yet two but has been loving ice all summer and asks for it often. All this time I've been thinking it is great because I know she is getting fluids on these hot summer days. like healthy popsicles!! I'm wondering now how often she asks for it and how often we are the ones offering it to her. How can I tell what "compulsive ice chewing" is?
Her doctor prescribed liquid iron back in november when we first discovered the lead poisoning. For the first few months we were very dilligent about giving it to her twice a day. But I started thinking that her very dark poop must mean that she is geting too much and the constipation seemed counter-productive to the chelation. I cut down to once a day and then, when her doctor said to go to once a day, I cut down even more. Now i give her the liquid iron every few days. I serve her healthy food of course, and she is still nursing alot.
Does the lead effect her ability to absorb iron, or is the iron used to chelate the lead, or iis it both? I can't seem to remember.
Has anyone else encountered this?

[provocativa]

Lead mimics iron and calcium at the cellular level. So, when lead is an issue, dietary insufficiencies leave room, so to speak, for lead in the cells/tissues. If low on calcium, more might get knit into bones, low in iron, will replace it in hemoglobin etc. Pretty much every toddler I've ever known has loved ice. It is fun, soothes erupting gums, and teaches them so much about temperature and matter, solid to liquid. You are absolutely right about excess iron in the stool. It could be too high a dosage or the form might be malabsorbed by dc. Food sources of iron are better, they say. Lately we're making baby coffee- molasses mixed into 'cow milk'. Two weeks from now, I'll be trying something else. . . .

[Maman*Musique]

We belong here

[welldone]

I finally got the ped to order lead tests for both the girls, now that the baby is six months. I had my older one finger pricked by the health dept. in July, but never got the results. They just kept telling me that she was fine, or the results weren't in yet. So much for consistency.

We're out of the lead hazard apartment and into one build in 1983. No lead paint. Icky carpet, but no lead paint. For now. But we just bought a house, and we know it has lead paint in it.

We've hired a lead inspector--a good one, as far as we've been told. (Better be, for the price we're paying.) He comes next Wednesday. We're willing to have all the trim removed and replaced before we move in, if that will help. The kitchen needs to be remodeled, so if we can afford it, we hope to get that going before move-in, as well. But we can't afford to live in the apartment and own the house at the same time for very long, so we're limited in what we can do.

Our city (Pittsburgh) has a lead safe organization that lets you borrow HEPA vacs. I'll have to ask them what brand they lend. They also have lead remediation programs for low income folks, but I'm not sure what they do. I'm anxious to find out, because it's going to really deplete our wallet to have trim removed and replaced. But I don't want to deal with higher lead levels. I'm already afraid of what we'll find when I get them tested now.

A sad welcome to the new moms in this thread.

[provocativa]

M. Musique, your ped could be wrong. Search the boards for iron supplementation and related topics. Many of us lead mamas have found that our dcs got constipated on iron supplements or multis, as they often have poorly absorbed types of iron. Constipation is counterproductive to chelation. Floradix is one widely touted around here, as it is plant based and easily absorbed. I just got some yesterday (I'm newly pregnant! Yea!) so I can't tell you yet if it seems to be being absorbed by dd better. Iron rich foods are often better absorbed by the body, esp. with vit C rich foods, and many peds recommend supplements to cover their butts, etc. As for the testing, don't let either child be tested by that nurse again. Find a phlebotomist experienced with small children. We actually switched peds after their phlebotomist left (the last straw). Dd has been tested by a variety of folks and I can tell you, skill levels vary immensely. The good ones never hurt her on a veinous draw.

[Maman*Musique]

Thank you for the advice. I agree and don't want to give an iron supplement. Floradix is good but only for kids over age 4. I think I will just go with iron rich foods for now. She is still an avid nurser and her iron levels do test fine so that's good.

[late-night nan]

Maman, good luck with the move and relocation on top of everything else. Your plan sounds like a good one.

I wanted to share some tips on cleaning lead dust that I found through a search--it's a very thorough brochure:
Reduce Lead Dust in your Home

[Shiloh]

-AHHH
Okay so I think we've got major lead paint.
+But regardless of how it or we test I ordered a test kit today for the home.
What should I be testing?
I am just going to get rid of the obvious offenders
Old metal toys....etc.

But if lets say I test a toy I got from 'wemakeourowntoys' and it has lead...
do I ask for a refund?

How do they get lead in vinyl anyhow?

[NoraJadesMama]

late-night nan, that is a helpful link, thanks.

We got some results back from the county health lead guy.


The maracca beads were lead-free! So much for my clever theories. And my hours and hours of cleaning. :LOL

The high lead results he got were our soil by the garage (which we knew) and our kitchen floor (which is where we enter the house).

I did spend a great deal of time cleaning the kitchen floor, hepa-vacing the house, and we are now shoes-free. I am hoping the baby's lead goes down accordingly. The hepa vac is so quiet that it's easy to do around my kids, which means i can hepa vac several times a week. my 4-y.o also enjoys using it!

We need to replace the soil out there and get some stuff growing.

Welcome to the new members sorry you have to be here. I am so impressed with you mamas who are moving or considering it. What a huge undertaking.

[Maman*Musique]

Norajadesmama, We are also a leave-your-shoes-in-the-mud-room family right now and I think that should help. We have two dogs who are staying in the kitchen for now. I would encourage you to do a veinous test since the finger prick is known for showing false positives. Just to ease your mind. It sounds like you are doing a great job. We also love our nice quiet hepa vac

Our update - I have taken a nice deep breath. Whew. We have changed the plan just a bit. What we are doing now is -

-Boxing everything up in preparation to either delead or move
-Wiping everything down with the phosphate cleaner
-Vaccuming constantly
-Getting a NEW lead inspection (lots of $ but we think the first one was not accurate)
-Getting our son tested Monday(we bought the EMLA cream) I am really scared of what we will find out.
-We are still looking at houses to buy but it does not look promising at all. The houses without lead are out of our price range. The market here is swinging to the buyer's advantage though, so it might look better in the next year. DH thought we might sell our house now before the down-turn and then rent for a year until we could buy at a good price.
-I have looked for rentals but folks don't want to rent short term - the dogs are also an issue for most landlords. I will keep looking.
-Getting a bunch of estimates for deleading. I would rather move altogether but I know it may not be possible. I just don't trust the deleading contractors I have spoken with and I have heard so many negative stories about deleading results.

My baby has a terrible cold right now so she has been up for 2 nights straight. I am going to try to get as much done as possible over the next few days with her in the sling nursing. My mother is coming to help.

Hope others are hanging in there

[AnoriensMom]

Originally Posted by AnoriensMom

So I would strongly urge everyone to check your state’s DHCD website for their Single family home Rehabilitation and lead abatement programs.

Maman*M, please go back and read some of my former posts. I did receive federal help, and a bunch of it too!!! It was tough work, a lot of phone calls and paperwork, but it is finally over.

Never got a chance to thank you, provocativa, for your reassurance with the ice-chewing. If I may gush for a moment...MotheringDC is sooo awsome. Here I am feeling pretty isolated from friends and family, and especially people who are raising their kids the way I want to. When ever I have a question I can just go online and search MDC. Its like a living constantly updated child care book written by the coolest mamas around. So when some stranger makes me freak out about my child having a vitamin defincency because she is chewing ice and I don't have any one around me to offer advice, I am grateful that I just have to type it into a forum and an experienced mom expert can help relieve my fears. I thought it would be normal for a toddler to chew ice (she sure does enjoy it), but without any one to compare it to, I couldn't really tell. Thanks!

And more hugs to all the families dealing with lead.

[Subhuti]

Anoriens' mom--

in your last post you said you received "federal" money ?? But prior to that said it was a state program. NY state does not have, as far as I could find, a state program for helping with lead abatement. But is there federal money to be had?? We've spent close to $10,000 so far de-leading (mainly removal of windows).

Thanks!

Liz

[Maman*Musique]

I could not find any information about state assistance with lead removal. All they provide is a list of lead inspectors and a list of deleading contractors.

[AnoriensMom]

This is the link for my state's page

http://www.dhcd.state.md.us/Website/...lp/lhrglp.aspx

We applied for this money through our state, but then they were all saying that the grant we received was federal money. I think you do have to apply through your state. Maybe it is just a maryland thing, but that would be awful.

[Maman*Musique]

It looks like my state does offer loans/assistance with lead removal, for low income families in high risk areas. That is a great thing but we don't qualify.

[ernestholmes]

Many questions!

We evacuated our home of four years on Sept 2 because a third scientific lab had confirmed toxic lead levels on the entire lot aurrounding our home, the outside of the house, the baseboards window casements and cabinetry in the home - all the counter top tile (chipped!) the bathtub was 200x the legal limit with its peeling procelain - my baby had bathed in it for 30 minutes every night for three years. Dust swipes picked up extremely toxic levels on the baby's window sills (at mouth level) on the fireplace tiling, on the kitchen floor.

My child was normal when we moved into the home and developed perfectly until 18 months. She then began to exhibit autistic symptoms and at 2.8 was diagnosed and is still autistic. The symptoms of that disorder mimic lead poisoning almost exactly. Her (past) deathly diarreah mimics everything lead does.

My child had a lead blood level done one week after we evacuated - both that and her 24 hour urine came back >4mcg

But as I read through this thread I realize the blood tests are temporal and that lead may be hiding in her bones, hair and adipose tissue

HOW DO I GET HER TESTED FOR THIS?

Where does one go to get the hair test? I looked at the link from the yahoo group but its inconclusive - you have to have a doctor do it. What if they won't?

Does anyone know how to get a child's bones tested?

I need to look into this further - as my landlord refused my wish to be relocated and have the place cleaned up so we can move back in - and they served us eviction papers because I filed to get relocation expenses back from them plus my security deposit. They won't budge a finger.

We move into a new place this weekend? How can I test it for lead without spending the $500 I did on the contractor who tested our old home?

Also, our old sofa - which is actually still in great condition, has been covered with a slipcoiver for three years, which gets machine washed maybe twice a month. Can I take it with us or is it contaminated? I have an antique loveseat too that I adore - if I get it reupholstered can it be salvaged?

BTW the lead gave both of our dogs cancer and one had her lead amputated, which is what tipped me off the get the testing done on the first place.

Info GREATLY appreciated.

[ernestholmes]

hi sending up a flare again - we are supposed to move this Sat
Anyone out there with info?