If you where
looking for lead guitars and heavy metal music this is not the
article that you are looking for. This article is about lead, heavy
metals and chelation therapy. Got it?
Lead is a metal
that is found naturally inside the earth's crust. It has spread
through our environment in many ways by people and their invention.
Lead can be found in paint, gasoline, contaminated soil, lead-glazed
pottery, household dust, drinking water, and some metal jewelry.
Breathing of
air, drinking water, eating food or swallowing and touching dirt
that contains lead can cause to lead poisoning or plumbism. In
adults, lead can increase blood pressure, cause infertility, nerve
disorders, and muscle and joint pains. It can also affect focus,
concentration and memory loss. In children lead is more dangerous
since a child who will swallow large amounts of lead may develop
anemia, severe stomachaches, muscle weakness and brain damage.
To prevent all
of this, a blood test to determine the amount of lead in the blood
will be needed. This type of blood test will require no special
preparation. For children they only need to wear a short-sleeve
shirt when going to the hospital so that the test can be easier and
faster. The results will be processed by a machine and can come out
within a few days.
If positive for
lead poisoning but is slightly elevated, doctors will give
information on how to reduce the exposure. If the test results will
show higher levels then the local heath department will be needed to
detect the lead sources in your home.
Some simple ways
to reduce lead exposure is through sealing in rather than remove old
lead paint. Washing your children's hands after they play outside
before eating and going to bed. Clean your floors with a wet mop,
wipe furnitures, windowsills and other dusty surfaces with a damp
cloth. Restrict the areas where your children play by not letting
them play near major road ways and bridges. Prepare meals that are
high in calcium and iron. And run cold water for at least a minute
before using.
If you are
dealing with higher levels of lead poisoning, the doctors will also
recommend chelation therapy. Chelation therapy is the administering
of chelating agents such as EDTA in order to remove the heavy metals
such as lead out of the body. Chelating agents can be administered
intravenously, intramuscularly or orally depending on the agent and
the type of poison. EDTA stands for ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid,
a synthetic amino acid that was first developed in Germany and is
the preferred chelating agent to be use to remove lead.
My article stops
here. Hope you have learned something. Chow!
