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LEAD
What does the Lead Poisoning program do?
The goal of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is to provide community outreach and education to families, providers, and assistive personnel throughout Tulare County to reduce and prevent childhood lead poisoning. This program works in collaboration with Public Health Nurses and the Environmental Health Department, providing case management during locating, assessing and eliminating the sources of lead poisoning to children, ages 0-6. The staff provides fingerstick trainings to provider and clinic personnel who want to perform fingerstick lead screenings in their office or clinic. Contact 559-733-6123, x213.
Why is lead dangerous?
Lead can harm the brain. Lead poisoning can make it hard for a child to learn, pay attention and behave. Young children get lead poisoning more often than older children. Lead is also more harmful to them If you are pregnant, lead can hurt your baby. Ask your doctor about a lead test.
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How do I keep my child safe from lead?
Following are tips from the Department of Health Services to help you keep your child safe from lead:
- Keep your home clean and dust free. Wet mop floors, wet wipe window sills, vacuum and wash all surfaces often. Use household cleaner and rinse with clean water. This keeps lead in dust from spreading in the house.
- Do not let your child chew on painted surfaces or eat paint chips. Lead from old paint is the most common cause of lead poisoning.
- Wash your child's hands often, especially before eating and sleeping. Also wash your child's toys often. Lead dust can stick to hands and toys that children put into their mouths.
- Feed your child healthy meals and snacks regularly. Make sure meals include vegetable, and foods rick in calcium (milk, cheese, yogurt, corn tortillas, tofu or bean curd), iron (meat, chicken, cooked dried beans, iron-fortified cereals, and raisins and other dried fruit), and vitiman C (oranges and orange juice, grapefruit and grapefruit juice, and tomatoes and tomato juice). Calcium, iron and vitamin C help keep lead from hurting your child.
- Take off shoes or wipe them on a doormat before going inside. This keeps lead dust outside.
- Keep furniture away from paint that is chipped or peeling. Make sure cribs, playpens, beds and high chairs are away from damaged paint. This helps keep lead in paint chips and dust away from your child.
- Plant bushes, grass and other plants, or lay paving stones, concrete, bark or gravel to cover hard dirt outside where children play. This keeps lead in the dirt away from your child.
- Change out of work clothes and shoes, and wash up or shower before coming home if you work with lead. Lead is in workplaces such as painting or remodeling sites, radiator repair shops and places that make or recycle batteries. Ask your employers to tell you if you work with lead. Children can be poisoned from lead dust brought home on workers and their clothes and shoes.
- Do not use imported, older or handmade dishes or pots for food or drinks unless they have been tested and do not have lead in them.
- Never sand, dry scrape, power wash or sandblast paint unless it has been tested and does not have lead in it. Lead dust from paint can spread and poison your family, pets and neighbors.
- Call your childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to find out about testing your dishes, pots and paint. You can contact them at 559-733-6123.
- Be sure that products you bring home do not have lead in them. Some products often contain lead. These items are home remedies (bright orange, yellow or white powders) like Greta, Azarcon, Paylooah, or Liga, make-up like Kohl and Surma and some imported candies, especially candies from Mexico made with tamarind fruit.
- Avoid hobbies that use lead. Lead is used to solder or join metal and make stained glass. Lead is also used in bullets and fishing sinkers.
- Talk to your child's doctor to find out about testing your child for lead. Your child may need a blood test for lead poisoning. Most children are tested at 1 and 2 years old. Some children over 2 also need to be tested. Most children who have lead poisoning don't look or act sick. A blood test for lead is the only way to know if your child has lead poisoning.
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Where can I get more information on lead poisoning?
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