The Allegany County Department of Health would like to remind residents we need to protect children, pregnant women, and even adults from lead poisoning. This is also a good time to talk to your child’s pediatrician about lead testing. Testing your children for lead is a great first step and is required at age 1 and again at age 2.
New York State Public Health Law and Regulations Require Health Care Providers to:
Test all children at age 1 year and again at age 2 with a blood lead test.
Assess all children ages 6 months to 6 years at every well child visit for risk of lead exposure and obtain a blood lead test if there is a positive response to any of the questions.
Provide anticipatory guidance to all parents of children less than 6 years old as part of routine care. Use parent handout, "What Your Child's Blood Lead Test Means." This brochure is available on the New York State Department of Health website or from the Allegany County Department of Health.
Additional New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Testing Recommendations:
Test all foreign-born children up to age 16 years, particularly refugee and internationally adopted children, upon arrival in the U.S and again 3-6 months after they obtain permanent residences.
Test children of any age if lead exposure is suspected. All children found to have elevated blood lead levels regardless of age require follow-up services.
Here are the questions your child’s health care provider uses to assess whether a child has a possible lead exposure.
Talk to your child’s health care provider is you answer “yes” to any of these questions.
Lead Exposure Risk Assessment Questions for All Children Less than 6 Years
1. Does your child live in or regularly visit an older home/building with peeling or chipping paint, or with recent or ongoing renovation or remodeling?
New York City banned lead-based paint for residential use in 1960. In 1977, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use of lead-based paint in residential buildings. Older dwellings may have lead-based paint under new paint. Consider day care, preschool, school, and home of babysitter or relative.
Ask if any move, repair, or renovation is planned and provide anticipatory guidance if needed. Children with Medicaid, those entering foster care, and recently arrived refugees are more likely to live in older, poorly maintained housing, and have higher rates of lead poisoning. If you can answer “yes” to this question talk to your child’s healthcare provider about lead poisoning and lead testing.
2. Has your child spent any time outside the U.S. in the past year?
All foreign-born children should be tested upon arrival in the U.S., due to higher lead risk in many foreign countries.
3. Does your child have a brother/sister, housemate/playmate being followed or treated for lead poisoning?
All children should be tested for lead if their brother, sister, housemate, playmate or a child they go to daycare with is being followed or treated for lead poisoning.
4. Does your child eat non-food items (pica)?
Does your child often put things in his/her mouth such as toys, jewelry, or keys? Children with developmental disabilities are at higher risk for pica. For product recall information go to the consumer product safety commission website www.cpsc.gov.
5. Does your child often come in contact with an adult whose job or hobby involves exposure to lead?
For example: house painting, plumbing, renovation or construction; auto repair; welding; electronics repair; battery recycling; lead smelting; jewelry, stained glass or pottery making; fishing (weights); making or shooting firearms; or collecting lead or pewter figurines.
6. Does your family use traditional medicine, health remedies, cosmetics, powders, spices, or food from other countries?
Lead has been found in items such as: Ayurvedic medicines, alkohl, azarcon (alarcon, luiga, rueda, coral), greta, litargirio, ghasard, pay-loo-ah, bala goli, Daw Tway, Daw Kyin; in cosmetics such as kohl, surma, and sindoor; and in some candies and other products from Mexico. More information is available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/tips/sources.htm .
7. Does your family cook, store, or serve food in leaded crystal, pewter, or pottery from Asia or Latin America?
Lead exposure risk from pottery is higher with: old, cracked/chipped, and painted china; low-fired or terra cotta pottery from Latin America or the Middle East. Also, imported samovars, urns, and kettles could be soldered with lead.
If you can answer “yes” to any of these seven questions from the lead exposure risk assessment, talk to your child’s health care provider about lead poisoning, lead testing and the question(s) you answered yes to. For more information about lead poisoning and lead testing call the Allegany County Department of Health at 585-268-9250.
