Treatment for Lead Poisoning
Children with too much lead in their blood need follow-up care. Healthcare providers can tell what kind of care the child needs. Sometimes the child will need to take several blood lead tests. Children exposed to high levels of lead may need treatment to remove lead from their bodies. Healthcare providers will also work with the state or local childhood lead poisoning prevention program to make sure the child's exposure to lead is reduced.
If a child has been diagnosed with elevated lead levels, the first step in treatment is preventing further exposure to lead.
Medical care after lead exposure
All children with elevated blood lead level need additional blood lead tests until the amount of blood in their system goes down. In addition to blood lead testing, all children with elevated blood lead level will need full medical evaluation and/or a risk assessment done of their home.
A full medical evaluation should include:
- determining possible sources of lead exposure,
- checking for speech delay and behaviors such as pica and mouthing,
- finding out if the child is getting enough iron and calcium in his or her diet,
- finding out if adults in the household are exposed to lead and if the child spends time in other places with lead hazards,
- a physical examination, and
- testing for low iron in the blood.
Children with extremely high levels of lead in the blood, for example 25 ug/dl or greater, will also need medical treatment. Treatment often includes chelation therapy, a drug that will decrease the amount of lead in the blood. In one treatment cycle of chelation therapy, they may take the drug every day for several weeks. Some children will need several treatment cycles. Chelation therapy doesn't work if children continue to be exposed to lead at home. This is why the home must be made lead-safe before a child can go back. Chelation therapy may have side effects, including nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, and loss of appetite.
Children with low iron levels should also get treatment to increase the iron in their bodies. Iron may help to prevent a child's body from absorbing lead from new exposures.