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October 20, 2007
Help! Slightly elevated lead levels in 3yo daughter
We just moved into our gut-renovated brownstone in June. As you all know, there was a tremendous amount of dust. We cleaned, cleaned and cleaned. We didn't think to test our daughter for lead before we moved in to establish a baseline because we had no old walls standing at all, so we figured there was no lead dust hazard. A few weeks ago, I got around to testing our household dust for test, and found a few areas where the lead test turned positive. I then had my daughter tested for lead and her lead level is 6 (as in 6ug/dL). The cutoff is now 10 but I've been reading everywhere that long-term exposure at even levels as low as 3ug/DL have been linked to IQ decreases as large as 7 points and delayed puberty, etc. What do I do now? I intend on hiring people to clean every single surface & vacuum out our HVAC system. Any recommendations for any such service? By the way, our daughter doesn't put random things in her mouth and I would have thought she would be pretty safe..
Comments
How upsetting. I have a 3 yo myself and always worry about this. I hope and wish your doctor will be able to give you some recommendations and say something that will make you feel more optimistic. Meanwhile i would get the space cleaned professionally and re-tested. You will find cleaning companies that offer cleaning with lead in mind, some may offer a guarantee. Check in the Franklin Report. I would have the test done periodically, both for the house and your daughter. Good luck.
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 5:30 PM
You should definitely check with your pediatrician about the lead levels again. I thought the number you got was either 4 or too small to measure (I didn't think you could even get a 3). I can't remember the exact number our son had (maybe a 4 or 5), but the pediatrician said many kids in NYC get some exposure just from air pollution. So you should certainly clean you house, but before you panic, check whether it's pretty common for a city kid to have some registered lead level. A six is still pretty far below the 10 that doctor's become concerned with, and it may not be from your new house construction.
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 5:44 PM
I was trying to write the same thing as 5:44, and kept sounding kinda snotty, which I don't mean.
What I do mean is, Yeah, what 5:44 said! There is lead in the air we all have to breathe. I know your child is important to you, but I bet if we all got tested we would test at least a little positive for lead.
It's everywhere!
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 5:52 PM
Is/was your child breast fed? If so, have you been taking your Multi-vitamin pills postpartum? Iron and calcium help prevent lead poisoning. Baby formulas and cereals are iron fortified.
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 5:54 PM
Original poster: I was tested as well, and my lead level was only 0.1 - and I thought I was more exposed than she was (many, more more visits to job site while under construction). And my child has been weaned for quite some time, and has at least one bowl of cereal every day (as well as her multivitamins). So it's a matter of great concern that her lead level is 60 times mine.
Posted by: guest4 at October 20, 2007 7:32 PM
Her body is much, much smaller than yours.. of course she has more lead in her body than you do.
I know it's alarming, but I would find out what these numbers mean before going much further--we all breathe lead every day.
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 9:21 PM
5:44 here again. I do understand your concern and I had a similar one when my 1 yr old was tested. However, what I seem to remember was that very small children are affected by lead differently than adults (not because of size, but something to do with how their bodies absorb lead). So I'm not certain that your own lead level would be relevant.
However, here's my suggestion -- why don't you have her regular pediatrician do a lead test on her. (The testing you describe is unusual because you describe your own level as .1 and every test my kids have had reports lead simply as "below detectable" (or something like that), but nothing as specific as .1) Is your child older than 1? If so, your pediatrician should have some baseline results from her 1yr old lead test, so at least you could compare against those. Or if your test was done by your pediatrician, definitely have him or her explain what a 6 means. Are they concerned? How unusual is a 6 compared with other kids they treat?
Of course it is a good idea to have another good cleaning done and also to retest your child in a month or so to make sure the levels aren't going up. But until you hear more directly from your own doctor, you should not assume the worst, as a 6 is not horrible and your child certainly has not yet had long term exposure to high amounts. Good luck to you.
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 9:36 PM
You have to also consider her toys, any pottery-type dishes that you might be using... there are so many different
places/items that could cause lead readings.
Also, what different homes that you visit... play dates etc...
Please keep us posted, and wishing you the best.
Posted by: bren at October 20, 2007 9:38 PM
All those China-made toys that were recalled due to lead content?
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 10:16 PM
Your concern is totally understandable and you're right to be proactive in keeping your daughter safe from lead in your house (or anywhere). I would ignore comments that suggest you're overreacting. At this point, you might want to work with professionals who specialize in lead for both clean up and testing. We recently completed a renovation, and had our 2 year old son tested for a baseline lead level before we moved in (it was below detectable levels). We also had our house cleaned by an outfit that specializes in lead clean up and guarentees lead "clearance" (Microecologies, Manhattan but there are many others). We then had the house tested by an independent lead tester (Luke Gray, Brooklyn Lead). We did this voluntarily just because we knew we had disturbed surfaces with old paint and wanted to be as careful as possible. I'll warn you, this all cost a fortune (Microecologies, not Luke Gray!). But we sleep a little better. Still, we plan to test our son again in a few months, just to be sure.
Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 11:35 PM
You are NOT overreacting. First of all, I would try to understand who is telling you that your lead level is .1. I have never heard of that. If your level is below three it is considered undetectable and safe. Second of all, do not compare your lead level to your daughter's...totally different. Third of all, your three year old should not have a lead level of 6 from air pollution so I would take the steps you are considering to fix the situation. Have your house professionally cleaned. Make sure to keep areas around windows and doors clean. Enforce hand washing and continue to retest your daughter.
Posted by: guest at October 21, 2007 9:17 AM
Remember it's in the tap water too, if you still have your lead water main, which we do too, as ours doesn't have dangerous levels of lead. Even if you don't drink it, you shower and bathe in it, and can absorb some lead that way. One thing you could do is keep a jug of warm, filtered water nearby when bathing your child and just dump it on her at the end of her bath. Rinse the leaded water off with the non-lead water.
Have you noticed your daughter exhibiting the symptoms of too much lead? You can find the info online. I've seen before hyperactivity is one.
Posted by: guest at October 21, 2007 11:00 AM
"I would ignore comments that suggest you're overreacting. "
which ones said that?
Posted by: guest at October 21, 2007 2:30 PM
Original poster: Thanks for all the comments, I only found out that her lead level was 6 yesterday when I called the ped's office. I will definitely call cleaning services next wee k - I don't think it's toys, as she doesn't play with anything that was on the the list. We drink unfiltered tap water, and that's going to change as of today. She's very independent, and actually gets her own water from the tap, so that will be one change. We will be more vigilant about hand-washing before every meal.
Posted by: guest4 at October 21, 2007 3:08 PM
There is nothing so awful as feeling that somethng you have done has damaged yoru child. My son tested above 10 his first test, and it was only after a professional cleaning that we got him down to what the pediatrician thought was acceptable (which by the way was 7!). She told us that we lived right in the Brooklyn lead belt - a combination of substandard housing with flaking paint and housing in the midst of renovation. Our situation was the latter. I felt horrible (and still do). I would suggest, as others have, to speak to your pediatrician about the steps you should take. As a nondoctor, I would also suggest having your water tested before cutting it off - bottled water doesn't have the floride which your daughter needs. Good luck.
P.S. again as a non doctor I would ignore thsoe who are suggesting you look for sighns of lead poisoning - the amount you are talking about mya very well turn out to be relatively insignificant. Talk to your doctor.
P.P.S. despite his one time high level of lead my son tested into the "LEAD" program (oh ironies), reads music at age five, and won't stop asking me questions. There will be many ways you will fail in protecting your daughter - this one sounds like you ar eont he way to having it under control.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 21, 2007 8:25 PM
Thanks, putnamdenizen - that is exactly how I feel. Coulda, woulda, shoulda - why didn't I get a couple of crews in to do cleaning every month. Well, it's not too late and it's not as if my daughter seems okay. So all we can do is clean and mitigate the problem now.
Posted by: guest4 at October 21, 2007 9:12 PM
This is not meant to be alarmist, just to clarify this discussion. A previous poster mentioned the 3 µg/dL study which I have pasted below. There are many good suggestions in the forum for dealing with lead (which we all have in our homes if the were ever painted pre-70's).
***************************
Lead can be harmful to children even at levels typically thought to be safe, according to two new studies. In the first, scientists found that lead causes intellectual impairment in children at levels below the current acceptable blood-lead level of 10 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL), and in a second report, researchers discovered that girls with blood-lead levels of 3 µg/dL showed signs of delayed growth and puberty. The findings suggest that the acceptable blood-lead level for children should be lowered.
The results showed that the relationship between lead levels and IQ is nonlinear, and the effects are the greatest in children with blood-lead levels below 10 µg/dL. When lifetime average blood-lead levels increased from 1 to 10 µg/dL, the researchers saw a decrease in IQ of 7.4 points. When blood lead levels increased from 10 to 30 µg/dL, they saw a decline in IQ of only 2–3 points.
Posted by: Mr Joist at October 22, 2007 10:10 AM
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