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Fall/Winter 2016 Volume 9, Issue 2 Be Lead Free! News Lead is Sneaky; Learn How to Stay Ahead! By Hannah DuJack, RN If you or someone you live with is exposed to lead at work, be sure to talk with your child’s pediatrician about ways to keep your child lead free! Another way lead can sneak into your child’s world is through the inside of your car! Adults who work as painters, welders, carpenters, or in large factories may be exposed to lead on the job. If lead is picked up on skin or clothing by an adult during work, the lead can get into the family car when workers are driving to and from the work site. Once lead dust gets on inside surfaces of the car it could pass into your child’s body when they ride in the car, even if the adult who works with lead isn’t in the car at that time! Lead is found in many places in our environment, both indoors and outdoors. One common place where lead paint and lead dust can be found is on the porch of an older house. Did you know that lead found on porches or decks can easily be passed on to children and adults living in the house? If there is lead on a porch, anything being stored there can quickly become contaminated with lead dust. This includes toys, strollers, car seats, swings, and picnic tables. Even if your baby or child isn’t playing on your porch, dust can stay on the surface of stored items and lead can find its way into your child’s body at another time. It is very important to make sure your porch is lead free or lead-safe before storing any baby or child items there. ---PAGE BREAK--- Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 2 PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN FROM LEAD By Maureen Butler RN, BSN Protect your children by preventing lead poisoning!! Childhood lead poisoning is a serious problem. Lead poisoning causes loss of IQ points, difficulty paying attention and other learning disabilities. Children usually are exposed to lead hazards as babies and toddlers but the problems caused by lead poisoning are not seen until the pre-school and elementary school years. The only way to protect your children is to know how young children become lead poisoned and prevent it. For many years, lead was added to house paint. It was banned from house paint in 1978. If the apartment or house you live in was built before 1978, there is probably old lead paint under the newer coats of paint. When the paint chips and flakes, it is easy for little children to get bits of lead paint and lead dust on their fingers and toys. The lead is absorbed in their body when the toys and hands go into their mouths. Fine dust can also be inhaled as they breathe. In some homes, the windows are at just the right height for little ones to stand and look outside. As they do that, it isn’t unusual for a toddler to bite or lick the window sill and get lead paint in their mouth. The effects of lead poisoning don’t go away when the child’s blood lead level goes down. Protect your child from lead poisoning by keeping them away from old lead paint. If there is chipping and peeling paint in your home, ask the landlord to repaint those areas. The repairs should be done in a lead safe way and you and your children should not be in the home until the work is finished. The only way to know if your child has lead in their body is with a blood test. Every child should have a blood test for lead poisoning at ages 1 year and 2 years of age. If you are worried about lead exposure at any age, ask the doctor to order a blood lead test. To learn more about how to keep your child lead safe, talk with your doctor. You can also call the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program in the County Health Department where you live. Find your County Health Department Lead Poisoning Prevention telephone number HERE ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 3 Be Lead Free! News Where could lead be hiding? Look at the pictures to give you hints on where lead might be hiding. by Karen Buchinger RN, BSN Broome County Health Department Cayuga County Health Department Chenango County Health Department Cortland County Health Department Herkimer County Health Department Jefferson County Health Department Lewis County Health Department Madison County Health Department Oneida County Health Department Onondaga County Health Department Oswego County Health Department St. Lawrence County Health Department Tioga County Health Department Tompkins County Health Department CENTRAL NEW YORK COUNTY LEAD PROGRAMS In old paint on _ _ _ _ _ _ In old paint on _ _ _ _ _ _ _ In _ _ _ _ _ coming through old lead pipes On work _ _ _ _ _ _ _ In outdoor _ _ _ _ near old peeling house paint. On painted _ _ _ _ _ _ frames Tracked into the house or car on the bottom of _ _ _ _ _ Stairs Porches Water Clothes Dirt Window Shoes ANSWERS [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] ---PAGE BREAK--- Be Lead Free! News Safe Indoor Play for Young Children Central / Eastern New York Lead Poisoning Prevention Resource Center SUNY Upstate Department of Pediatrics Room 5600 750 E. Adams Street Syracuse, NY 13210 As the weather gets colder, outdoor play happens less often. Toddlers and pre-schoolers need to be amused indoors. This can be difficult in small homes that don’t have a lot of floor space to play. But even a small open area can be enough to have fun. Empty boxes of different sizes can be stacked up and knocked down many times. Older pre-schoolers who no longer put things in their mouth can decorate the boxes with child safe crayons. Empty cereal boxes and plastic bowls can encourage make-believe play like “making” breakfast for dolls and stuffed animals. Reading stories to your children helps them to learn new words. Just looking at colorful picture books with you can be relaxing to the youngest members of your family. You will be surprised at how many times they want to look at the same books!