Lead Levels

I have no lead expertise, but that would bother me too. Maybe you could look into hiring a lead abatement company to test your home, or even get some home test kits (they are supposed to be available at hardware stores) and do some testing yourself. Also, I think they only recommend testing (kids) at ages 1 and 2, but you should definitely insist on another test in a few months.

I'd check his toys for recalls - a lot of the recent crop of toys were recalled for lead. Also if you live in an older apartment you should get the paint checked. Better to worry and discover everything is ok than to ignore and find out there's a problem later I think. Chances are everything's fine, but it never hurts to check.

I had my children tested for lead too. I live in Forest Park. 2 of them had levels of 8 & 9. When I spoke to their pediatrician, she said that those levels a little high but still okay. Just to be on the safe side, we have a Brita filter on our kitchen sink. It's old house with old pipes. We just make sure we give them water from the filter and will test again next year.

Also the nurse said that when they were tested it's possible it wasn't a "clean" test because their little fingers were pricked for the blood draw. Next time we test, we're doing at the pediatrician's office and they'll do a blood draw (from a vein) like they do for adults.

My son just got his lead levels tested today. The first time he was tested today it was 8.5 - pretty high - then they told me to wash his hands really well - then retake the test. Apparently if the hands are dirty - they might cause a higher lead reading that normal. His second test was 4.4 - much better. Still not wonderful - but better.

However, I just read an article in the current Parents magazine that notes that any lead level over 3 is potentially concerning. Note that 10 is the current baseline over which lead levels are considered dangerous - but that over the years - the levels have been lowered many times once they discovered ill effects at certain levels of lead. So who's to say they won't lower the baseline once again?

I say trust your instincts - call the doctor back - get a retest, test your home for lead (can be chipping paint - don't forget the windowsills, lead in pipes, or in the soil) - and get lead abatement if need be. In my view - any level of lead isn't safe - so we are taking steps to find and reduce the lead levels in our home.

You may want to also clean any surfaces that may contain dust from lead (like chipped paint) with a wet cloth to pick up the dust (instead of spreading it around).

Go out and get the September 2007 issue of Parents magazine ... it is very helpful regarding lead (p.190). Best of luck to you ...