Pediatric Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is a health concern that can effect children of all socioeconomic backgrounds. It has been an issue for many years and instances of lead poisoning can be found throughout history in every country. Children under the age of six years of age and pregnant women are most at risk for lead poisoning (Lead Home, EPA.gov/lead). Lead can cause serious health problems if consumed. It is more common for lead to slowly build up in the body over time from repeated exposure to small amounts of it. Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it affects the developing brains and nerves of children. It is estimated that 1 in every 20 kids have too much lead in their blood (Lead Home, EPA.gov/lead). Victims of lead poisoning may suffer a lowered IQ, difficulty sleeping, and brain damage. Lead poisoning and its affects are preventable with the proper education and testing. Here, I will discuss two articles on the subject of pediatric lead poisoning, some aspects presented in each that could be positive and negative influences on a child 's health and then offer some of my own opinions. The first article, A Review of a Preventable Poison: Pediatric Lead Poisoning, is a basic overview of the history, routes of exposure, pathophisiology, excretion, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options for lead poisoning. This article also lends a lot of time to different levels of prevention that a nurse can be involved in. The general point of this article is that lead poisoning is preventable and no child should have this exposure. The prevention tactics are broken up into primary, secondary, and tertiary aspects. The primary prevention is explained as “..working to inform the public about common sources of lead (Erikson, 178)”. This is aimed at children who have lead levels under 10 but who are still considered at risk. This type of prevention is geared toward education of the parents and emphasizing the importance of decontamination of the sources of lead. They

Cited: Erickson, Lori, and Teri Thompson. "A Review of a Preventable Poison: Pediatric Lead Poisoning." Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing 10.4 (2005): 171-82. Print. "Lead Home | Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. . Serrell, Nancy, Rosemary M. Caron, Bethany Fleishman, and Emily D. Robbins. "An Academic-Community Outreach Partnership: Building Relationships and Capacity to Address Childhood Lead Poisoning." National Institutes of Health Public Access. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. . Wong, Donna L., Marilyn J. Hockenberry, and David Wilson. Wong 's Nursing Care of Infants and Children. St. Louis, MO: Mosby/Elsevier, 2011. Print.