Focus area Healthy People 2020: Environmental health
General questions
• What is lead and where it is typically found?
• What is lead poisoning?
• How lead affects the body?
• What age group is at risk?
• When should a child be tested on lead poisoining?
• What are the sign and symptoms of lead toxixity?
Steps to Reduce Lead Exposure
• Do you understand the importance of hand washing, especially when preventing lead exposure?
• Can you demonstrate the proper handwashing technique?
• Homes built before 1978 contain lead based paint. What year was your home built?
• If your home was built before 1978, do you have any chipped or peeling paint in your home? (walls, doors, windows, furniture, etc.)
• Do you or anyone in the household work in a field with lead where they are exposed to lead or can bring lead home? (plumbing, demolition, mining, auto repair)
• Do you know how to keep your home lead free?
• Do you have any products in your home that contain lead?
• Do you have any imported or handmade dishes in your home?
• Do you or your child participate in hobbies that use lead?
• Do you provide your child with regular meals and healthy snacks?
• Did you know that calcium, iron, and vitamin C enriched foods help decrease the absorption of lead?
• List some foods that are high in calcium, iron, and vitamin C.
Testing for lead
Have you ever had your child tested for lead? “No, because my child does not need it…I think”
• Do you know where your child can get tested for lead levels?
“ in doctor’s