What's Inside

• Beware The Lead Poisoning

  • How lead exposure affects kids

• Fact Or Fiction: Lead Poisoning Only Happens With …

• What I’m Seeing at Work: Whooping Cough (Pertussis …

• Money-Saving Tip: Know Your Network

• WWWD: Tonsillectomy

• Recalls & Alerts: Guitar String Lubricant

• Funny Things: Lemme Borrow Your Stethoscope 🤣

Beware The Lead Poisoning

I’m a fan of HGTV and occasionally watch one of those home renovation shows. They’re always fun to see the before and after.

But, I always worry when I see them remodeling an older home…especially when the family has kids. I see them tearing into walls, yanking out plumbing, dust flying everywhere. And while I know the final reveal is going to be amazing, I worry about lead poisoning and how it affects children, especially.

Here’s the thing: If you’re remodeling a home built before 1978, you need to get it tested for lead. (It wasn’t until 1978 that they stopped using lead-based paint.)

If your home was built prior to 1978, and you start tearing into walls and such, you could be releasing dangerous lead dust and chips into the air and across all the surfaces. No one should be breathing this stuff in, especially the kids. And if you discover your home has lead pipes, you absolutely must replace all of them. Don’t even hesitate, despite the cost.

High Risk Locations

When I was training in Omaha, NE, all kids got routinely checked for lead at age 1. Lead is in the soil in Omaha due to previous industry (including lead smelters) and we routinely detected high levels of lead in kids there. I admitted many kids to the hospital for lead chelation therapy. So it pays to know what is also in the soil locally. These cities in particular have high levels of lead in the soil:

1. Chicago

2. Indianapolis

3. New York

4. Cleveland

5. Milwaukee

6. Baltimore

7. Cleveland

8. Omaha

What states have the highest risk of lead exposure?

Rhode Island, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are the worst.

While Illinois, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida have the highest levels of lead in the water.

How lead exposure affects kids

You’ve probably heard that lead is bad for kids. But I’m telling you, it’s really bad. Kids who are exposed to lead can have major, long-term health issues:

• Developmental delays

• Learning difficulties

• Reduced attention span and behavioral problems

• Hearing loss

• Speech problems

• Damage to the nervous system

• Damage to kidneys

Because your child’s body and brain is still forming, even small levels of lead can have a massive impact.

Signs and symptoms of lead poisoning

This is the tricky part. Because lead poisoning doesn’t usually present with any obvious symptoms, it can go completely undetected for years until serious damage has occurred.

That’s why your pediatrician will often do a blood test to screen your child for lead exposure. (If you haven’t had a blood test done to test for lead, talk to your pediatrician about getting tested.)

Lead poisoning resources

The EPA has produced a bunch of great resources on lead poisoning and prevention.

Click the image below to access the full Lead Poisoning Prevention Toolkit from the EPA:

You can also call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-5323 (LEAD). They can give you all kinds of information about lead hazards and how to prevent exposure/poisoning.

Fact Or Fiction: Lead Poisoning Only Happens With Paint Chips

FALSE

We’ve all heard that a child who eats lead-based paint chips can get lead poisoning. It conjures up this image of a poor kid eating peeling paint chips off the wall. And while that sadly does occur sometimes, kids also get lead poisoning from water, soil, lead dust, or toys that contain lead—think that fun little wooden duck your mother had growing up in the 50s. If it was painted with lead-based paint and now your little girl is gnawing on it, she could be in danger.

What I’m Seeing at Work: Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

Whooping Cough is surging in a few of our local schools. This is due, in part, to the fact that Utah is an “opt out” state (meaning vaccines are not mandatory to attend public schools). And no matter where you stand on the pro- or anti-vaccine issue, the fact remains, when populations don’t vaccinate, they are more vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases. (The AAP obviously recommends your kids get vaccinated.)

Here’s the quick scoop on Pertussis:

It’s caused by a bacteria that attacks the lungs. This causes severe coughing episodes (think 20 coughs in a row and turning blue). In the first week or two, the infection looks like a common cold, but the cough can go on for a LONG time—it’s sometimes called the 100-day cough.

When to worry

• Your child isn’t fully vaccinated (especially infants),

• has big episodes of coughing,

• finger tips or lips are turning blue,

• or seems exhausted after coughing.

Pertussis treatment

Pertussis is treated with an antibiotic. Unfortunately, the antibiotic just stops the spread. It doesn’t prevent or treat the cough. There is no cure for the cough.

Money-Saving Tip: Know Your Network

I recently got the bill for my kids routine dental cleaning (2 kids were seen the same day). The bill was over $300.

I nearly fainted.

Preventative care was supposed to be covered 100%. I’ve seen the same dentist for a decade, I’ve worked for the same company for even longer. Little did I know that while the dental insurance carrier was the same, the plan had changed and my dentist was no longer “in network.”

How frustrating. The fault is technically mine and I got to pay for it.

Learn from my mistake, check that your providers are in network.

COST SAVINGS: $338

WWWD: Tonsillectomy

I often joke that if it weren’t for my profession, we’d be at the doctor’s office weekly with one of our four kids. I use my skills at home all the time. Here, I’ll share a recent example from home and how I handled it, including the products I used. This isn’t an advertisement—I don’t have any financial interest in these products. I simply have parents ask me all the time about what to do in certain situations and the products I use.

The night before her surgery.

Look at the size of those tonsils! (The tonsils are the big balls of tissue on either side of the uvula/thing that hangs down in the middle of the throat). This is her perfectly well and not swollen.

Day of the surgery. You can see the remnant white on the sides of the throat where the tonsils used to be.

Day 3: The scabs have formed (see the thick white). There are a few raw spots. Notice how swollen the uvula is. She sounded squeaky when she talked.

Day 8: The swelling is starting to come down, some of the scabs are coming off.

Day 11: Scabs are off, just a little remaining inflammation. She is no longer complaining of her throat hurting.

Today, Day 14 (post op follow up): Feeling great. Got the green light to eat chips/popcorn from the ENT.

Sneak peak: Stayed tuned for next week’s insider tips to prepping your kid for surgery.

Recalls & Alerts: Guitar String Lubricant

Funny Things: Lemme Borrow Your Stethoscope 🤣 

I saw a 6 year-old boy in my office who began telling me all about his organs and body parts he’d been learning about.

MD: Let’s listen to your organs. We’ll start with your heart.

(Kid holds still and afterward, grabs my stethoscope and wonders….)

Kid: What will it sound like if I listen to my wiener?

Legal Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice or medical treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or the health and welfare of your child. We do not endorse any specific products or brands mentioned in this article. Readers are encouraged to perform their own research and consult with appropriate professionals before making any decisions based on the information provided herein.