Poisoning caused by taking in lead salts.
Lead is among the oldest known toxins. Because of postnatal central nervous system development and relatively weak blood-brain barrier, early exposure has the greatest effects. However, exposure at any point can have serious effects. The Center for Disease Control estimates that in the United States, over 20% of African-American children living in pre-1946 housing and a total of 890,000 1- to-5-year-old children have elevated blood-lead levels (BLLs). Infants who tend to put things in their mouths, or children who engage in pica are at particular risk. Poverty, inner-city location, and minority status are added risk factors. Exposure is largely through deteriorated lead-based paint in older housing, dust and soil contaminated with lead-based paint, and residue from past emissions of leaded gasoline. Other sources include industrial emissions and residue from recycling of automobile batteries. In an unusual case from rural North Carolina, a 4-year-old girl suffered severe brain damage from lead emitted from plates in automobile batteries that her family burned for heat in an indoor stove.
Toxic condition caused by inhaling or ingesting lead or lead compounds (e.g., in some paints). Acute poisoning causes gastrointestinal disturbances, mental disturbances, and paralysis of the extremities, sometimes followed by convulsions and collapse. Chronic poisoning causes irritability, anorexia and anemia, and often progresses to produce acute symptoms. Treatment is by chelation. Also called plumbism.
Poisoning from overexposure to lead. Exposure to excessive amounts of lead is most common in young children. Symptoms of lead poisoning include poor appetite, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, abdominal pain, irritability, and seizures. Severe exposure can cause permanent brain damage or even death. People are exposed to lead from many sources, particularly through cracked paint chips and dust. Other sources of lead include drinking water, food, and soil that have been contaminated. Airborne lead enters the body through inhaling or swallowing lead dust or particles; lead can leach into drinking water from pipes; and it can be deposited on floors and other surfaces.
Lead and lead compounds are used in a variety of products, including petrol additives (in the UK, lead-free petrol is now mandatory), piping (lead water pipes were once a common source of poisoning), weights, professional paints, dyes, ceramics, ammunition, homeopathic remedies, and ethnic cosmetic preparations. Lead compounds are toxic by ingestion, by inhalation and, rarely, by skin exposure. Metallic lead, if ingested, is absorbed if it remains in the gut. The absorption is greater in children, who may ingest lead from the paint on old cots although lead-containing paints are no longer used for items that children may be in contact with.
Ingestion or inhalation of substances containing lead. Symptoms of acute poisoning include a metallic taste in the mouth, burns in the throat and pharynx, and later abdominal cramps and prostration. Chronic lead poisoning is characterized by anorexia, nausea, vomiting, excess salivation, anemia, a lead line on the gums, abdominal pains, muscle cramps, kidney failure, encephalopathy, seizures, learning disabilities, and pains in the joints.
Injury to the brain, nerves, red blood cells, and digestive system results from breathing in lead vapors or ingesting lead salts. Acute poisoning, resulting from a rapid intake of a significant amount of lead, can occasionally be lethal, though it’s uncommon. Prolonged exposure can stem from fumes of vehicles using leaded gasoline, outdated paint, or lead-based water pipes.
Complications can lead to kidney issues and hearing challenges. In adults, it can adversely affect the kidneys, nervous system, and digestive tract.
The presence of lead poisoning can be verified through blood and urine examinations. Doctors might prescribe chelating agents like penicillamine, which latch onto the lead, helping the body expel it more rapidly.
This occurs in acute and chronic forms. Acute lead poisoning. This form is characterized by an immediate metallic taste, a burning sensation in the throat, and severe abdominal pain with paralysis, followed by collapse and even death. If the poison has just been swallowed and the casualty has not vomited, then this should be induced by giving two teaspoonfuls of Epsom salts in a cup of water. If the poison has been swallowed one- half to one hour previously, then it is a waste of time to induce vomiting, for the poison will have already passed into the intestine. The burning pain in the stomach can be relieved by giving the patient milk to drink. All cases should, however, be rushed to hospital for treatment. Chronic lead poisioning. This type of lead poisoning occurs in persons long exposed to repeated absorption of small amounts of the metal. There is lack of appetite, general lassitude, various symptoms of indigestion, and obstinate constipation associated with attacks of violent abdominal pain, and a blue line may appear on the gums just where the teeth emerge. Various nervous symptoms may develop, such as the characteristic dropping of the wrist due to a lead palsy; epileptic fits, acute mania, delirium, and coma may also appear. Research has shown that chronic lead poisoning may sometimes be the cause of a form of mental defect in children, caused by sucking objects containing lead. It is recommended that all mentally retarded children should have a blood test for lead.