Lead Test Kits:
More than 200,000 children in the United States contract lead poisoning every year. Lead poisoning limits a child's ability to learn, even after a short term exposure. It is estimated that a child's I.Q. drops 3 points for every 10 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood. If the child receives prompt medical attention, chances for recovery are very good. However, if the exposure goes undetected, it can bring about permanent damage, causing anything from learning disabilities to severe mental retardation and even death. Children under the age of 7 are much more susceptible to lead poisoning because their developing bodies absorb the lead at 4 times the rate of an adult.
Compounding this medical danger is the fact that one of the most common places for children to become exposed to lead is in the home. The major sources of in-home contamination are lead-based paints, tap water, colorful ceramic dishes, soil and airborne lead particles. Because you can't see, taste or smell lead , everyone is potentially at risk.
Apparently, Lead is omnipresent – from natural deposits to agricultural soils, from vehicle emission to tap water, from household paints to children toys and what not. The lead test is a test used in order to screen the exposure to lead and to evaluate the concentrations of lead in the blood or various tissues. A test carried out at a particular time denotes the lead levels at that particular point of time. However, the level of exposure, any detox therapies and body's metabolic flushing may result in variable amounts of lead contamination at different points of time. So, frequently, such lead tests are used to monitor the changes in the blood/tissue lead levels. There are several laboratory techniques that can diagnose & quantitatively determine the presence of lead in body tissues & fluids. Various types of samples like urine, hair, blood serum etc. can be used for lead testing purposes. Often, lead poisoning is screened & confirmed by venipuncture or capillary based sampling and further evaluation of total lead levels. The basic principles of urine test, hair test and blood tests can be applied to evaluate the level of lead in the body in order to identify any potential toxicity. One of the easiest screening methods is the hair based testing. Testing protocols may also include the use of chelating drugs along with a periodic urine or blood collection to quantitate lead levels. The recommended upper limits of blood lead levels called Elevated Blood Lead (EBL) Levels are around 10mg/dl or 250-1000ppm. Over a period of time, such tests can be used to monitor the changes in the blood lead levels and epidemiological studies can be conducted to identify geographical areas of high lead exposure.
Lead in Paint
