lead poisoning
Sign in to savepoisoning by lead in the body, especially affects the brain
Key facts
- Other names
- Plumbism, colica pictorum, saturnism, Devon colic , painter's colic.
- Specialty
- Toxicology
- Symptoms
- Intellectual disability , abdominal pain, constipation , headaches, irritability, memory problems, inability to have children , tingling in the hands and feet.
- Complications
- Anemia , seizures , coma .
- Causes
- Exposure to lead via contaminated air, water, dust, food, consumer products.
- Risk factors
- Young age, pica .
- Diagnostic method
- Blood lead level
- Differential diagnosis
- Iron deficiency anemia , malabsorption , ADHD , anxiety disorder , polyneuropathy
- Prevention
- Removing lead from the home, improved monitoring and education in the workplace, laws that ban lead in products.
- Treatment
- Chelation therapy
- Medication
- Dimercaprol , edetate calcium disodium , succimer .
- Deaths
- 540,000 per year (as of 2016)
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by the presence of lead in the human body. Symptoms of lead poisoning may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. Lead poisoning causes almost 10% of intellectual disability of otherwise unknown cause and can result in behavioral problems. Some of the effects are permanent. In severe cases, anemia, seizures, coma, or death may occur.
Exposure to lead can occur through contaminated air, water, dust, food, or consumer products. Lead poisoning poses a significantly increased risk to children and pets as they are far more likely to ingest lead indirectly by chewing on toys or other objects that are coated in lead paint. Additionally, children absorb greater quantities of lead from ingested sources than adults. Exposure at work is a common cause of lead poisoning in adults, with certain occupations at particular risk. Diagnosis is typically by measurement of the blood lead level. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US) has set the upper limit for blood lead for adults at 10 μg/dL (10 μg/100 g) and for children at 3.5 μg/dL; before October 2021 the limit was 5 μg/dL. Elevated lead may also be detected by changes in red blood cells or dense lines in the bones of children as seen on X-ray.