Children's Health
Lead Poisoning - Exams and Tests
Diagnosing lead poisoning can be difficult, especially because its symptoms are so general. The doctor will ask questions and do a physical exam to look for signs of lead poisoning. If your doctor suspects lead poisoning, he or she will do a blood lead test to find out the amount of lead in the blood. If the levels are high, the doctor will do a second blood lead test to double-check the levels.
Results need to be reported to the local health department if two or more blood lead levels are above 10 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL). A home inspection is needed to find the source of the lead contamination.
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Other tests that can be helpful if lead poisoning is suspected include:
- Complete blood count (CBC), to find out whether you have anemia, which can be caused by lead poisoning.
- Abdominal X-rays, which might show deposits of lead in the bowel.
If a child has lead poisoning, the people he or she lives or plays with may need to be checked for lead in their blood.
Early detection
Screening programs for lead poisoning check large numbers of children or adults who are likely to be exposed to lead. These programs are set up by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and give local and state agencies information to help find which areas are the most likely to have high lead levels. Age of housing is an important factor in risk, because older homes tend to have lead-based paint. If lead exposure is likely, then blood tests for infants and young children will be recommended to measure blood lead levels.
Talk to your child's doctor about whether your child is at risk. During a routine health exam, the risk for lead exposure can be evaluated by answering questions about family members' living and working conditions. The doctor may then decide whether blood lead levels should be checked.
Children
Children should be tested, no matter what their age, if they have been exposed to lead or if they have symptoms that could be caused by lead poisoning. Screening tests done on 1- to 2-year-olds have shown lead in the environment in most places. When children in an area no longer test positive for traces of lead, routine screening of those children is no longer needed. Screening programs in an area would need to be restarted only if something changed that would increase the risk for lead in that area.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend:8
- Lead poisoning testing for children ages 1 to 5 who don't have symptoms and do not have an increased risk.
- For or against routine testing in children ages 1 to 5 who have a greater risk for higher blood lead levels and don't have symptoms.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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