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• Saturday, September 8, 2007 08:16 AM

  The system fails . . .

  When my daughter was 2, she had a routine lead test - and we never heard anything about it and assumed all was well. At her 3 year check up, they indicated her levels were high at 2, so we needed a follow-up check. Surprise, her levels had risen to 9.8 - and apparently over 10 is bad. In fact, we soon started getting calls from the health department and had to have her tested every 3 months. We also tested our home and found lead in our paint - especially on the porch. I did lots of research and wrote indignant letters to everyone at every level involved indicating that I thought that given the seriousness of the situation - prevention should be our goal. Imagine what a simple phone call that her 2 year levels were kind of high could have done - we would have found the source and made the necessary changes and prevented it from going up. Seems like a no brainer - but they don't worry about it until it is 10. As a paretn, I want to keep it from getting to 10, thanks.

  So, my advice:

  1. Call and ask for all test results. Ask for specific numbers and interpretation of said numbers. Never assume that no news is good news.

  2. Test your home environment and toys, especially if you live in an older home.

  3. Know that if your child's levels are high - there are some natural things you can do with your childs diet to help the body get rid of some, though never all, of the lead. Food high in iron can help prevent absorption and a Low Fat diet is essential as high fat foods promote lead absorption.

  http://www.co.allen.in.us/images/stories/pdf/Foodsthatfightleadpoisoning.pdf

  4. Don't give your baby and toddler real keys to play with as many keys have lead in them.

  http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/msdhsite/_static/resources/760.pdf

  5. Remember that ultimately, it is the parent's responsibility to provide a safe environment for a child - just because a toy is marketed as appropriate and safe, it does not mean that it truly is.

  A concerned mom

  —concernedmom Read concernedmom's other letters
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