|
The Rotary Club of North Sydney Sunrise asks Parents
to
help LEAD the way against LEAD
In some areas of Sydney up to 1 in 4 children less than 5 years
of age have blood lead levels above what is recommended for good health.
If your child has too much lead in their blood something CAN be
done about it. If you know your child has too much lead, you can find out
where the lead is and how to stop it getting into your child. This will
help lessen the potential harmful effects of lead, such as learning and
behaviour problems or lowered IQ. Most children with too much lead in
their blood are never tested. These children often have problems at school
and families will never know why.
Take
a moment to answer the following questions to see if your child should be
tested.
CHILDREN UP TO 4 YEARS OF
AGE ARE MOST AT RISK FROM LEAD
CHILDHOOD
LEAD EXPOSURE RISK FACTOR QUESTIONNAIRE
If the answer is
YES
to any of these questions your child may be at risk of an
elevated blood lead level - discuss with your doctor the need for a blood
lead test.
|
If
your child is aged between 9 months & 4 years, does he or she:
|
|
Live
in, or frequently visit, a house*
- built
before 1970 with peeling or chipping paint?
- built
before 1970 with previous or ongoing renovation where old paint
(inside or outside) has been burnt or sanded off, or where
ceilings, walls or floors have been demolished?
- near
a lead releasing industry, eg lead mine, lead smelter,
battery-recycling plant?
(*- House includes day-care centres,
pre-schools and homes of babysitters, relatives etc)
|
Yes No
Yes
No
Yes No
|
|
Live
with an adult:
- Live
with an adult whose job or hobby uses lead? (eg lead mining or
smelting, automotive repair, panel-beating, lead lighting, fishing
sinker making, electronics, shooting instruction, car-battery
service/ repair or manufacture).
|
Yes No |
- Have
a brother or sister, housemate or playmate with an elevated blood
lead level?
|
Yes
No |
| Does
your child…. |
- Sometimes eat non-food items such as soil or paint?
|
Yes
No |
- Have anaemia due to not enough iron, behaviour
problem, learning problem or did they sit up, walk or talk late
|
Yes
No |
** Other groups at
risk of lead exposure include
-
Pregnant
women and their unborn babies
-
People
who live in and/or renovate pre 1970 houses (especially children)
-
Households
where a family member works with lead or uses it in a hobby
-
Households
who live near a source of lead contamination (e.g. lead smelter, market
garden once sprayed with lead arsenate, municipal incinerator, car
repairer where paint is stripped, battery breaking yard).
If your child is at risk of having a raised blood lead level, Medicare covers the cost of the test.
Painless blood lead testing is possible through the use of EMLA™
anaesthetic patches, which are available without a prescription from
chemists.
The patch must be applied at least one hour before the blood sample is
taken.
Remember
that the absence of symptoms does NOT take away the need for a blood
lead test.
Most children have no
symptoms until high lead levels are reached.
**************************************
A
message to doctors
Careful
questioning of the patient to identify risk factors, followed by a blood
test, is the best way to confirm exposure to lead. Most cases of
lead poisoning show no symptoms.
If
there is a risk factor, a venous blood lead should be done.
Venous
blood samples remain the recommended sampling technique. Finger prick, hair and urine testing
are not recommended because of the risk of contamination and false
positive results. Blood samples can be sent to your chosen pathologist,
but it is suggested that parents use larger centres with two or more staff
or hospitals. Parents may like to purchase EMLA™ local anaesthetic
patches from their local pharmacy and apply this to one or both
antecubital fossae one hour prior to blood collection to reduce
discomfort.
Identification and Management of Lead Affected
People
|
For
more information GP’s and patients can contact:
The LEAD Group Inc
Phone
1800 626 086 or 9716 0014
Website:
http://www.lead.org.au
[use
the “Contact” form to send an
email]
The
LEAD Group is a not for profit organisation that receives
some funding from the federal government Department
of Environment
|
The Lead
Education and Abatement Design Group
Working to eliminate childhood and foetal lead poisoning
by
the year 2012 and to protect the environment from lead
ABN: 25 819 463 114
|
| For
more information about the Rotary Club of North Sydney
Sunrise
visit http://www.rotaryclubofnorthsydneysunrise.org.au/
or the Rotary International website: http://www.rotary.org/ |
|
