Putting Lead in Perspective This Holiday Season (continued)

How and when should kids be tested for lead?

If your child had a toy that was recalled because of lead, throw it away immediately and call your doctor, who may recommend a blood test. All kids should be routinely tested at 1 year old and again at age 2, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The most common blood test for lead involves pricking a finger and taking a drop of blood. If tests show elevated lead levels, the doctor will probably order another test that draws the blood from a vein in the arm or hand.

What are some other ways kids are exposed to lead?

Toys aren't the only things that could contain lead. Other common culprits:

• homes built before 1978 (when the government banned the manufacture of paint containing lead). Young children with lead poisoning usually get it from eating chips of lead-based paint or by inhaling lead particles in dust from walls covered with lead-based paint.
• soil contaminated by nearby streets (because lead was once an ingredient in gasoline) or by lead-based paint used inside or outside the home
• water that flows through old lead pipes or faucets if the pipes begin to break down
• some children's metal jewelry (in the metal itself, not the paint). Most recalls of kids' jewelry involve those sold in vending machines and at dollar and discount retailers.
• some hobby items (like stained glass, ink, paint, and plaster)

What are the symptoms of lead poisoning?

High levels of lead in the blood can cause symptoms like:

• tiredness
• irritability
• muscle and joint pain
• headaches
• stomachaches
• cramps
• loss of appetite
• constipation
• vomiting
• seizures

Lead also has been linked to anemia, severe colic, attention problems, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and mental retardation. But often there are no symptoms at all. The only way to know for sure whether a child has lead poisoning is through a blood test.

More Information

For a list — with pictures — of toys, crafts, and children's jewelry recalled for lead concerns (not just this year, but as far back as the 1970s), go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) site, enter "lead recalls" in the search box, then click on the first link. And, since toy sellers might not have removed all recalled products from their shelves, make sure to search the CPSC site for recalls before giving your kids any plaything this season — better to be safe, than sorry.