Did you decline 12 month bloodwork? - Page 2

[BrooklynDoula]

lead testing is REALLY important and any one who thinks their child has no risk for exposure should start looking at the huge lists of toys being recalled and all the seemingly safe products that we now know might be posioning them. I would NEVER decline the 12 month lead test and really can not fathom why anyone would.

[riverscout]

I declined the blood draw for lead, but I did do the finger prick for iron levels. If I had it to do over again, I would have declined the iron check too.

[quirkylayne]

I swear I replied to this.

Anyway, there is no need to hold your baby down for this. He can sit on your lap and you hold him tightly. A good nurse/tech will have it done quickly and you will be on your way.

[dawn1221]

Originally Posted by BrklynMama

Imany find that a blood draw (the more accurate test) is less painful than the fingerprick.

We found this to be true for our DD. We had a terrible lab TRY to get the lead test and RAST done and they did a finger prick. Little did we know the RAST test required I think 2-3 LARGE vials. The guy didn't take enough blood for either test but he milked the blood out of DD for what felt like an eternity. She was hysterical the whole time. I felt awful. Plus her finger kept opening and bleeding all day.

When we found out we had to repeat it, we put it off for months. But the thing is we NEEDED to do the test. DH is a locksmith and we cosleep so I figure we have a pretty good chance of exposure. Plus she was reacting to food.

We went to the childrens hospital to have the test done. We held DD ourselves. It was done in half the time of the first test and DD barely cried. She didn't even flinch when the inserted the needle (I looked).

[BrooklynDoula]

My son did not cry or squirm or anything - he watched, no pain, and really liked the bandaid he had been shown that he would get when it was over. The tech, a big guy from the islands, sang him thhis funny song and he was smiling.

[slsurface]

Hmm...My son just had his twelve month check up today and they never mentioned any bloodwork. Here are my thoughts if they had...If your bfing there should be no worriers about anemia (trust me!) . And lead poisoning is only a concern if you live in a building old enough to have lead pipes or paint. Only you know what's best for your little one.

Best Wishes

[wombatclay]

Lead isn't "just" in old paint or pipes! It can show up in all sorts of odd places...

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/...lead/lead.html
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/leadsafe/products.htm
http://www.health.state.ny.us/enviro...ad_sources.htm

Some highlights:
batteries
car seat covers
holiday lights
flexible plastics (like the cord to your vacuum or computer)
plastic miniblinds
pvc products (including "safety bumpers" for furniture)
VDU and TV screens
crayons and chalk
food packaging, plastic wrappers, color printed cardboard boxes
colored ink from printers
soil exposed to current lead sources (renovation or remodeling upwind, manufacturing upwind) OR to gas fumes in the 70s (the lead simply collects so if the dirt was exposed to traffic during the era of leaded gas it's still contaminated)

Oh, and lead solder was only banned in the US in 1986 (same time lead content in plumbing lines was regulated)...so if your home was built prior to 1986 then that is another area of concern.

If you choose not to test, that's your choice. But please don't assume that your child isn't exposed to lead on a daily basis just because of where you live.

[the_lissa]

They don't do routine blood work at 12 months here.

My daughter needed blood work done for health reasons, and it was absolutely horrific.

I would think very hard about doing it.

Seeing as it is not routine here, and we don't have larger amounts of children with lead or iron problems, I have to wonder how necessary these tests are. I'll have to look into further.

[AntoninBeGonin]

Originally Posted by BrklynMama

I would most certainly recommend 12-month bloodwork. As others have noted, there are many sources of lead besides lead paint, and it is virtually impossible to be certain that your child has no level of exposure. Mine had elevated levels despite having no lead paint in our apartment whatsoever.

Please be aware that lead exposure is not simply a matter of having "lead poisoning" or not. Lead exposure is a spectrum and the higher the levels, the more severe and noticeable the effects. However, cognitive deficits have been found even at very low levels of exposure. For this reason, the federal government has for years been lowering the threshold at which lead levels are considered safe; in the years ahead it will probably be lowered even further, from 10 to 5.

Please also be aware that high lead levels are not something you can "sense" or "feel" through motherly intuition. Your child may not evince any overt symptoms of lead poisoning, and yet may be carrying high levels of lead in his/her blood which will subtly affect his/her cognitive functioning for life.

There are virtually no risks to this procedure, and many find that a blood draw (the more accurate test) is less painful than the fingerprick. My daughter shed not a tear at either of her draws.

I'm going to show this thread to my husband. Thanks OP for bringing it up .

[Maxine45]

We also had a questionnaire to fill out and they didn't mention anything further about it. No offers/suggestions were made at all to get his blood drawn and tested for lead.

[artgoddess]

I've seem to get lost every year on my way to the lab with my son. 1 yr, 2 yr and 3 yr no blood work.

[mom2annika]

The MDs have never mentioned it to us either. :headscratch

<As I wait for Mattel to respond to my email about the Dora figure. ARGH!>

[BabyJay'sMom]

That's the one test I WANTED to have done! Poor DS inherited his mommy's teeny tiny veins, and it was pretty darn traumatic for him, poor guy. But the results which were fine were justification in my opinion. We lived in a very old rental home at the time, and while I had tested the home for lead, I really was concerned about his exposure. It was also good to throw in DS's horrible Peds (at the time) face how good DS's iron levels were. He had been telling me for months that DS was SURELY deficient as he was ONLY getting mommy's milk and not formula, and I was DENYING him rice cereal. Loved moving away from that guy!

Having said all that, I will get the new baby tested at 12 mo, but I can't see getting my son tested again any time soon. If for any reason they HAVE to take blood in the future however, I will make sure they add lead and iron levels to the panel. No need getting sticked more than you have to!

[Rivka5]

Originally Posted by BrklynMama

Please also be aware that high lead levels are not something you can "sense" or "feel" through motherly intuition. Your child may not evince any overt symptoms of lead poisoning, and yet may be carrying high levels of lead in his/her blood which will subtly affect his/her cognitive functioning for life.

Thank you. I think this really needed to be said.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

Lead isn't "just" in old paint or pipes! It can show up in all sorts of odd places...

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/...lead/lead.html
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/leadsafe/products.htm
http://www.health.state.ny.us/enviro...ad_sources.htm

Some highlights:
batteries
car seat covers
holiday lights
flexible plastics (like the cord to your vacuum or computer)
plastic miniblinds
pvc products (including "safety bumpers" for furniture)
VDU and TV screens
crayons and chalk
food packaging, plastic wrappers, color printed cardboard boxes
colored ink from printers
soil exposed to current lead sources (renovation or remodeling upwind, manufacturing upwind) OR to gas fumes in the 70s (the lead simply collects so if the dirt was exposed to traffic during the era of leaded gas it's still contaminated)

Oh, and lead solder was only banned in the US in 1986 (same time lead content in plumbing lines was regulated)...so if your home was built prior to 1986 then that is another area of concern.

If you choose not to test, that's your choice. But please don't assume that your child isn't exposed to lead on a daily basis just because of where you live.

Sigh, I'm really tired of all the fear in our culture. Yes, you can find lead in all sorts of places both naturally and unnaturally. However, I sure hope that my child wouldn't be allowed to chew on holiday lights, batteries, or ink cartages. Please don't let fear make your decisions for you.

PS-Don't buy toys from China.

[wombatclay]

Please don't let fear make your decisions for you.

I'm not afraid, I'm informed.

And based on the information available I choose to test once a year. If a person is informed and chooses not to test that's fine.

[veganf]

Yes, we have always done the lead and iron blood draws at 1yr & 3yrs. I usually request an arm draw, the finger prick takes too long to get enough blood and my boys clot quickly and need to be stuck multiple times, so the arm is easier for us.

As others have said, lead poisoning is dangerous and not usually obvious.
Anemia is also not obvious until it is serious. Yet it is usually so easy to add more iron-rich foods to a child's diet to improve it.
For the very brief discomfort I think it is most definitely worth checking both at least once.

[Jenlaana]

This was just done to my daughter at 22 mos. She was held by my DH, but screamed and screamed and screamed like we'd never heard her scream before (she is very bounce back ish about most pain things) They had to tug and pull on her little tiny finger for a very long time to get enough blood for the vials. Before the second vial was complete, the nurse said she had to stop, that she just couldn't hurt DD like that anymore....

I dont deny the use of the test, but if you have it done, PLEASE have it done by someone who is good at this sort of thing. We use a family doctor for our pediatrics (we're leaving them, I posted on it) and I regret it so very very much. My DD is always hurting herself (falls, scrapes, scratches, bumps, bruises etc...she has had one fall where she landed wrong and passed out, and when she was a newborn was accidentally jabbed with a pair of nail trimming fingers pretty good in the leg and will have a scar from it for a long time) and nothing has come close to the amt of time it took her to get over this. After the visit was over, the paperwork done, she was put into her carseat, drove home, and brought into the house, she was STILL red faced and crying...

[staceychev]

Originally Posted by DklovesMkandJK

I'll make sure to ask at our next appointment about the finger prick. I am totally open to that and I think it is a great idea! Thanks!

Doesn't the finger prick hurt more??

[staceychev]

Originally Posted by AntoninBeGonin

I'll have to look at the symptons of lead poisoning.

Lucy had no symptoms. Her lead level was a 47. That's in the second highest category they take. As I posted before, she was admitted to the hospital within 4 hours of the test coming back. That's how seriously they take lead poisoning. That's how high her levels were. And I wouldn't have known without the blood test because she had no symptoms.



ETA:
I understand the PP in wanting to not fall prey to fear-mongering, but I respectfully submit that we still don't know where Lucy got her lead poisoning. The doc at the ER, an expert in pediatric lead poisoning, told us that all it takes is a piece of lead paint the size of a grain of sand to give a child lead poisoning at a level requiring some sort of intervention. Plastic breaks down over time (why do you think car seats have an expiration date?) and when it's plastic with lead, as in vinyl mini-blinds, what do you think happens to that lead?

Also, regarding the protection of breastfeeding--I'm still breastfeeding Lucy, and that's probably why she didn't have anemia along with the lead poisoning. But she still had the lead poisoning.

Once again, I'm not trying to scare mommas. I just think that, in the grand scheme of things, a couple of moments of discomfort during the blood draw are worth it. There are many tests and interventions that I would decline. This isn't one of them.

Here's the thread for moms dealing with kids with elevated lead levels:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=265284