Ask Tamara: What are the symptoms of childhood Lead poisoning?

Originally written: April 2014
Updated: December 16, 2019

I get this question all the time… so here’s a re-share of an older post I wrote with the answers.  As always, please let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks for reading!

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QUESTION:
What are the symptoms of childhood Lead poisoning?

ANSWER:
The most important answer is that In many cases, there may be no outwardly observable symptoms at all.

It needs to be understood that the initial exposure – whether acute or chronic – is most often asymptomatic or  – in many cases – the symptoms, if observable at all, may be subtle—and assumed to be related to some other illness or condition: an extended cold or flu, PMS, arthritis, migraines, digestive disorders, sexual or reproductive dysfunction, depression, “aging” or mild dementia, etc. – and with kids–  ADD/ADHD, Autism, OCD or often subtler, allegedly ‘normal’ (for boys) behavior: agression, moodiness,  poor impulse control, laziness or “lack of motivation”, distractedness, etc.)

How does acute Lead exposure differ from chronic exposure?

With acute lead-exposure – the symptoms may resemble those associated with a bad flu – but without a fever – or can even be more extreme—including seizures and death, depending on the level, time-frame and path of exposure, as well as the constitution/general immune response and condition/current health of the person impacted.

Since I am not a doctor, instead of going into every known possible symptom and concern myself (here in this post), I have chosen to list some of the most common symptoms and then give you some links (at the bottom of this post) to sites that also list symptoms. Below is a bit of a compilation based on these sites and links and my personal experience with my children and their experience acute Lead poisoning (and nearly 14 years of subsequent related health impairments and learning disabilities.)

I have broken things down in to the following four categories:

1. Short-term symptoms of childhood Lead exposure
2. Short-term symptoms of adult Lead exposure
3. Long-term symptoms of childhood Lead exposure
4. Long-term symptoms of adult Lead exposure

#1.) Common short-term symptoms of childhood lead exposure:

• Tiredness or loss of energy
• Hyperactivity
• Irritability or crankiness
• Reduced attention span
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss
• Reduced attention span
• Trouble sleeping
• Constipation
• Aches or pains in stomach
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Headaches
• Any Change in Appetite
• Hearing Issues
• Comprehension Issues
• Developmental Regression (for example a child was speaking and stops speaking, or stops their progress in learning speech).

#2.) …and short term symptoms for adults:

• Tiredness or weakness
• Irritability
• Trouble sleeping
• Headache / Migraines
• Difficulty concentrating
• Aches or pains in stomach
• Loss of appetite
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Weight loss
• Erectile Dysfunction [My favorite symptom because it helps men to understand that this is their problem too!]
• Inability to Conceive
• Low Birth Weight in Newborns
• Complications with Birth
• Kidney Failure
• Increased risk of heart disease

A sampling of some of the longer-term impacts…
#3) Long-term symptoms of Lead poisoning in children:

• Brain damage
• I.Q. loss / regression
• Behavior and learning problems
• Hyperactivity
• Impaired speech and language
• Learning disabilities
• Slowed growth
• Kidney and liver damage
• Hearing damage
• Sensory processing disorder
• Dyslexia
• Clusters of Symptoms Similar to an Autism Diagnosis
• Violent behavior
• Violent inconsolable outbursts
• Unpredictable behavior
• Compromised immune system
• Decreased earning capacity

…& #4.) long-term symptoms for adults Lead-exposure:

• Impotency / infertility
• Reproductive system problems & birth complications
• Brain and nervous system damage
• Memory loss / Alzheimer’s
• High blood pressure
• Digestive problems
• Increased risk of kidney disease
• Increased risk of heart disease
• Arthritis and join pain
• Anemia
• Hearing, vision and muscle coordination problems
• Compromised immune system

Some additional reading that might be a good place to start your journey:

• Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/basics/symptoms/con-20035487
• MedlinePlus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002473.htm
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning
• Healthline: http://www.healthline.com/health/lead-poisoning
• WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/children/tc/lead-poisoning-topic-overview

There are a lot of symptoms not included on this post and I will share other posts (for example) specifically discussing my own children’s symptoms.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children