Why is lead a toxin

Holstege does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Everything is a toxin, or has the potential to be, in the field of toxicology.

All things are poison and nothing is without poison. Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison. Lead, however, is toxic at any dose. It serves no purpose in our body.

Unlike most other toxins that our body can eliminate through metabolism and excretion, our body has no ability to purge lead. As a clinical toxicologist, I care for children and adults who have been exposed to lead and assure that those individuals receive the best possible care. Lead can enter the body through a number of different routes, depending on the source of the element. Most commonly, it enters the body through ingestion or inhalation.

As an example, toddlers are constantly placing items, including their hands, in their mouths. If a toddler lives in an old home that was previously painted with leaded paint — which was banned in the United States in for use in homes — the child may ingest old lead paint chips or lead contaminated dust from their hands on a daily basis resulting in gastrointestinal absorption of lead.

But lead-based paint is still on walls and woodwork in many older homes and apartments. Most lead poisoning in children results from eating chips of deteriorating lead-based paint. Lead pipes, brass plumbing fixtures and copper pipes soldered with lead can release lead particles into tap water. Lead solder in food cans, banned in the United States, is still used in some countries.

Lead can harm an unborn child, so pregnant women or women likely to become pregnant should be especially careful to avoid exposure to lead. Exposure to even low levels of lead can cause damage over time, especially in children. The greatest risk is to brain development, where irreversible damage can occur. Higher levels can damage the kidneys and nervous system in both children and adults. Very high lead levels may cause seizures, unconsciousness and death.

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This content does not have an Arabic version. Kids with high lead levels and symptoms of lead poisoning may need care in a hospital to get a medicine called a chelator KEE-lay-ter. The chelator helps remove the lead from the body. The effects of lead on development may not show up for years.

Doctors will closely follow the development of children with lead exposure at all regular checkups. Because there is no safe level for lead, try to protect kids from it. To help prevent lead poisoning:. Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is Lead Poisoning?

Who Is at Risk for Lead Poisoning? Kids also can come into contact with lead through: water that flows through old lead pipes or lead solder food stored in bowls glazed or painted with lead some old or imported toys, jewelry, pottery, and cosmetics.

This treatment binds to lead that has accumulated in your body. The lead is then excreted in your urine. EDTA has side effects that include kidney dysfunction, and DMSA can often cause nausea, abdominal distress, and allergic reactions, among others. In children, recovery can take time. Even low lead exposure can cause permanent intellectual disability. The blood lead levels test is used to check for lead poisoning. Learn how and why the test is used. Blood poisoning is a serious infection.

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