What Baltimore Residents Should Know About Lead Paint Poisoning

Lead paint exposure impacts thousands of children per year and can cause a wide range of health problems, including brain damage. Here’s what every Baltimore resident needs to know about lead paint poisoning.

When it comes to older homes and buildings, lead paint exposure is a huge concern for those with small children. There is also a risk of exposure to lead paint with some toys from outside the United States. Given the long-term health issues associated with lead paint, particularly with children, it is important to be aware of the risks of this material and the danger it poses. Lead paint exposure impacts thousands of children per year and can cause a wide range of health problems, including brain damage . Here’s what every Baltimore resident needs to know about lead paint poisoning.

Lead can be absorbed into the body in multiple ways: breathing, swallowing, or even absorbing through the skin. Children are especially susceptible to this because their growing bodies will more readily absorb the poisonous material. Long-term exposure to lead paint, which happens most frequently in older buildings, is called chronic toxicity , and it can lead to serious long-term health issues for children.

Chronic toxicity can result in decreased bone and muscle growth, damage to the nervous system, kidney damage, hearing and speech problems, developmental delay, and even seizures. These conditions can follow children throughout their entire lives, so it’s important to be aware of exposure to this material.

Homes built before the late 1970s, then, pose some of the greatest risks for long-term lead exposure. Children with a tendency toward pica, a disorder characterized by the compulsive eating of non-food items which can include paint chips, are also considered to be at risk for lead exposure.

Some things to look for are irritability and behavioral problems, difficulty concentrating, headaches, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain. Children suffering from chronic toxicity may also experience nausea, constipation, anemia, fatigue, weight loss, joint pain, seizures, and may report a metallic taste in their mouth in serious cases. Keep an eye out for indicators of lead poisoning , and be sure to talk to your doctor and get children tested for lead exposure.

The lawyers of Cardaro & Peek, LLC have the experience and resources necessary to investigate and litigate all types of medical claims throughout Maryland and Washington D.C. Cardaro & Peek, LLC has medical personnel on staff and has access to nationally recognized, board-certified physicians and other experts, to assist in the investigation, analysis, and prosecution of all types of medical malpractice claims. If you or a loved one have experienced malpractice, give us a call at 410-752-6166. Please visit our website www.cardarolaw.com and follow us on Facebook , Twitter , Google+ , and LinkedIn for more information.

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