When someone thinks of their child becoming ill, they usually think of the common cold or the flu. However, despite how common these ailments are, there are unfortunately many other ways a child can become sick. Lead poisoning is not as uncommon as one thinks. Lead is an element found in many things, including your home. When left unchecked, lead can pose risk to your child’s health. Here are four places to check for lead that could be harming your children.
Paint
Lead-based paints are nothing new. Although many distributors have found safer ways to manufacture paint, it’s not uncommon to find lead paint in older homes. Often, the lead paint has been covered by a layer of safe paint, but when the top layer starts chipping, the lead paint is exposed. Lead can cause serious medical issues, like hypertension and anemia, in both children and adults. However, when a child has prolonged exposure to lead, it can start to attack their central nervous system.
Water
Your water supply can also contain lead, especially if you have well water or your water is considered hard. Hard water is water that contains an over abundance of magnesium, iron, and lead. While minerals are needed to maintain our health, overconsumption can make you and your child ill. Water filtration systems can help, but it’s always best to remove all traces of lead within the water.
You can have a plumber come test your water and check for any issues including a high concentration of lead that may be going into your family’s drinking water.
Toys
This one may surprise some parents, but there are toys that are actually made with lead. Things like toy jewelry, plastic swords, and antique dolls contain lead. According to the Center for Disease Control, when toys are exposed to sunlight, it breaks down the plastic and causes lead dust to form. Toys have labels on the box or wrapping that gives warnings about the toy’s materials and tells you what it’s made out of. If a toy doesn’t have a warning label and your child gets sick because of lead poisoning, you might need to contact a lead poisoning lawyer.
Makeup
Finally, there are some makeup products that contain lead. Children, primarily young women, like to use things like mascara and lipstick, either for play, for everyday use, or for performances. Since these products make actual contact with their skin, it’s more than likely they’ll experience a lead-induced issue if there is lead present. Similar to toys, always check the label of cosmetic products before giving them to your child. If it contains even a trace of lead, you’ll need to throw it out and look for one replacement product for your child.
Even with safety precautions, you can find lead in a variety of products and even inside your home. If you have younger children, you need to take the steps to remove lead from your home. If, despite your diligence, your child does contract lead poisoning, contact a lawyer who specializes in lead poisoning. It could be that products were improperly labeled or that there are environmental issues.
