New Fear: Lead Poisoning

[.Poppy.]

My house was built in 1920, and I looked over my home buying documents and they all state the seller "was not aware" of any lead based paint in the home, but based on the age, of course it must be there. We've done construction on the home, taking down walls, sanding doors and windowsills, etc. and while we have tried to wear masks and contain the dust, it's still very messy and that dust gets everywhere.

I tried to be logical and look at the CDC site and home building websites, hoping that they would say high amounts or lengthy exposure is what to look out for, but of course did not find that. All said even small amounts could cause an issue. All said that even if you're not busting up walls, just regular home dust can have lead in it, or if your paint starts to crack or peel that could as well, etc.

This is probably a silly fear to have, seeing as I grew up in a historic farmhouse and we did renovations, so I've already been exposed. And right now in my current house, I've certainly already been exposed and we are done knocking things down and are just repainting everything, so in theory it should be mitigated at this point moving forward, but again, I've already been exposed.

I'm trying to clean my house, but there is just dust everywhere and it's so hard to clean because I don't yet have kitchen cabinets so nowhere to put things as I clean.

And then, of course, I am thinking about old dishes and what if they had lead paint and I've been eating off of them (I have a set that my mom gave me, from the 70s).

I'm not even just worried about myself, but my dog and cat live there as well and what if they stepped on dust or licked it, or breathed it in and I make them sick? I wish I had considered this fear a couple of weeks ago when my dog was at the vet school and I could have asked them then.

This wasn't a fear I originally had, as I was told that unless you are chewing on the walls (which neither I nor my pets do), you will be fine, but it seems that the professionals disagree.

I have a physical scheduled for next week so am thinking about asking my doctor about it then, but I'm so afraid of the answer and I also can't believe I was so reckless and stupid.

[rc906]

Lead poisoning usually takes months or years of exposure to a small amount of lead at home, work or daycare. When exposed to large amounts of lead, it can quickly lead to lead poisoning (acute poisoning). Lead poisoning usually happens due to prolonged exposure at home, work or daycare source: https://www.medicinenet.com/how_long_does_it_take_to_get_lead_poisoning/article.htm

Large amounts of lead would be if you were chewing on the walls, like you said.

Sorry you are having a hard time Poppy.

I live in an area where the majority of the houses were built in the late 1800's/early 1900's. My brother has been remodeling these homes for close to 30 years. Has never had a single issue with lead poisoning and hasn't always taken the best precautions.

I'd bring it up to your doc to put your mind at ease, but I don't think you should be concerned at all. Just take proper precautions when doing your projects and you will be just fine. The fact you are doing all of this work on your home is the best thing possible if you want to get rid of any worries of lead poisoning. Don't worry!

[kyllikki]

Poppy, you can easily get lead testing kits at a home improvement store. They are simple little swabs that you can rub against the paint or dust in areas where you are concerned. You could even do your plates, I guess!

But really a better way would be to ask your PCP to test you.

I too grew up in a lead (and mercury, and pesticide/herbicide, etc) cavalier household, and I have worried about this myself. I may therefore also take my own advice (haha.) I'm not sure how they even treat lead issues, but it seems like it'd be worth knowing. Maybe I could even get some IQ points back :P

[.Poppy.]

Thank you. I think the idea that concerned me was the "months or years of exposure to a small amount" because some of the things I read was classifying a "small amount" as even just some cracking paint or everyday dust.

My anxiety's been a bit up lately anyway for a bunch of other reasons, so this just felt like a natural progression of things to worry about. And with my dog's health issues, the idea that something I've done could have made him sick really weighs on me. So I may ask my doc what he thinks, and just leave it at that.

[.Poppy.]

Poppy, you can easily get lead testing kits at a home improvement store. They are simple little swabs that you can rub against the paint or dust in areas where you are concerned. You could even do your plates, I guess!

But really a better way would be to ask your PCP to test you.

I too grew up in a lead (and mercury, and pesticide/herbicide, etc) cavalier household, and I have worried about this myself. I may therefore also take my own advice (haha.) I'm not sure how they even treat lead issues, but it seems like it'd be worth knowing. Maybe I could even get some IQ points back :P

Yeah, honestly many of those plates have seen better days so it may be worth replacing them anyway :roflmao:

I've just been a bit spacy lately - like if I'm focused on one thing I find myself struggling to listen to what someone else is saying, or I get frustrated at the mental intrusion. I noticed it a lot when my nephew was here, because I'd be trying to help him do something (or stop him from doing something, lol) and if my mom or dad came up to talk to me at the same time I would struggle to process what they were saying. Same thing if a TV is playing really loudly, I find it hard to focus on something else. But I do know that's an anxiety symptom, and my anxiety is high, so there you go.