control what you can’t always see.
RELATED: 7 Lipsticks That Contain The Most Lead
However, there are several steps you can take to minimize your child’s risk to lead exposure:
- Check your house. If your house was built before 1978, you may be at a higher risk of lead exposure. Having professional cleaning, proper paint stabilization techniques and repairs done by a certified contractor can reduce lead exposure. If you are looking to buy a new home, have it inspected for lead before making any final decisions.
- Keep children away from contaminated areas. Keep your child away from areas with chipping or peeling paint as well as old window putty that may be flaking or chipping.
Tip: Try laying sod on areas of bare soil or cover bare spots with grass seed, mulch or wood chips. Clean up chips immediately and cover peeling patches with duct tape or contact paper until the paint can be removed.
- Filter water. If your water contains lead, try using ion exchange filters, reverse osmosis filters and distillation to remove lead from water. You can also run cold tap water for 15 to 30 seconds before using it to filter out any particles. When cooking, drinking or making baby formula, use cold tap water. Hot water tends to absorb lead more quickly than does cold water.
- Take precautions in the kitchen. Store food in glass, plastic or stainless steel containers instead of cans. If you’re not sure if pottery has a lead glaze, use it only for decoration.
- Keep your home clean. Wipe floors and other surfaces with a damp mop or sponge.
- Encourage good hygiene. Make sure your child washes his or her hands and face after playing outside or with pets and before eating and sleeping. You should also regularly wash children’s toys, which may become contaminated from soil or household dust.
- Avoid traditional remedies and certain cosmetics. If you’re not sure if a traditional remedy or cosmetic contains lead, don’t allow your child to use it.
- Promote a balanced diet. Eating a diet high in iron and calcium may decrease a child’s absorption of lead.
- Avoid certain children’s products and toys. Do not buy any off-brand toys, old toys, and toys from discount shops or private vendors unless you are certain that the toys have been produced without lead or other harmful substances. You should also avoid allowing your child to wear costume jewelry.
Tip: Try regularly checking lead recall lists, and remember to not solely rely on commercial lead test kits as they may not always be reliable.
- Take precautions around artificial athletic fields. Don’t allow your child to eat on an artificial field, and keep drinking when they are not in use in a covered container. Make sure your child removes his or her clothes and turns them inside out to avoid tracking contaminated dust. If clothing can’t be removed, have your child sit on a towel or blanket in your vehicle. When washing contaminated clothing, towels and blankets, put them in a separate load. Your child should also bathe with soap and water right away after playing on the field. Instruct your child to remove any shoes worn on the field when they enter the house.
With these precautions, hopefully, your child is safer from the dangerous effects of lead exposure. If you suspect that your child may have been exposed to lead, contact your child’s doctor and ask that they perform a lead test.