A silent deadly poison has crept its harmful claws into our children without the world noticing. It’s not unknown that the human’s reckless pursuit of wealth has always endangered the world all around them. Thus, now we can add lead poisoning to the uncountable list of greed’s casualties. Though the world has been aware of lead poisoning for a while, a new analysis has revealed that around 1 in 3 children are suffering from lead poisoning.
What is lead poisoning?
A person will suffer from lead poisoning if their body absorbs too much lead. Lead poisoning can take place through the skin or from breathing, eating, or drinking. Moreover, children are at a higher risk since they can absorb lead more easily than older kids and adults. Though it’s harmful to people of all ages, it can be fatal and life-destroying for unborn babies and young children.
The Toxic Truth report
In 2020, the Institute of Health Metrics Evaluation published an Environmental Health Perspectives verified analysis stating that almost 800 million children from around the world are suffering from lead poisoning, with half of these children living in South Asia. The case study took place in Katghora, Bangladesh; Tbilisi, Georgia; Agbogbloshie, Ghana; Pesaran, Indonesia; and Morelos State, Mexico.
Moreover, the report highlighted the fact that lead is a potent neurotoxin. Thus, lead can cause irreparable harm to children’s brains. Furthermore, it is drastically and irreversibly destructive to babies and children under the age of five. It can not only cause them lifelong neurological and cognitive impairments, but it can also harm them physically.
The report also verified the bond between lead exposure and mental health and behavioral problems. Thus, the report signified the role lead exposure plays in increasing crime and violence. Furthermore, it estimated that the lead posing causes the loss of almost $1 trillion economic potentials of these children over their lifetimes.
Culprits
The main culprit behind all this suffering is Informal and substandard recycling of lead-acid batteries. Many third world countries suffer from an increase in vehicle ownership and a lack of vehicle battery recycling regulation. Hence, nearly half of lead-acid batteries there are unsafely recycled in such informal economies.
Moreover, lead in water from the use of leaded pipes, lead from an active industry like mining, lead-based paint, and pigments, and leaded gasoline are also to blame for this crisis. Furthermore, Lead solder in food cans, as well as in spices, cosmetics, ayurvedic medicines, as well as toys, and other consumer products can cause this kind of poisoning.
On the other hand, parents may also be the reason for their kids’ lead exposure. Those with occupations that involve working with the lead often bring the poisonous dust home with them.
Symptoms
Though some children show no signs of being sick others might express some faint symptoms. Such symptoms include headaches, behavioral problems and trouble concentrating, loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea and vomiting, constipation, a metallic taste in the mouth, feeling tired, muscle and joint weakness, as well as looking pale. Remember recognizing the symptoms will save your child from lifelong suffering.
Treating the issue
Usually, the treatment depends on the amount of lead stored inside the body. It is easy to treat a kid suffering from a small amount of lead poisoning. The body can fight and expel it out on its own.
On the other hand, kids with severe cases and extremely high lead levels in their blood will need to be hospitalized. There, they will get treatment with the help of the chelator. Furthermore, the chelator is a substance that attaches to the lead and makes it weaker. Thus, the body then can get rid of it naturally.
Moreover, Calcium, iron, and vitamin C are elite fighters in the battle against lead exposure. They play an important role in decreasing the amount of lead the body normally absorbs.
References:
default – Stanford Children’s Health. (n.d.). Stanford. Retrieved August 4, 2020, from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=lead-poisoning-in-children-90-P02832Gladstone, R. (2020, July 30). One in Three Children Have Unacceptably High Lead Levels, Study Says. Https://Www.Nytimes.Com/#publisher. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/world/americas/lead-poisoning-children.htmlLead Exposure in Children. (n.d.). American Academy. Retrieved August 4, 2020, from https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/lead-exposure/Pages/Lead-Exposure-in-Children.aspxLead Poisoning (for Parents) – Nemours KidsHealth. (n.d.). Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved August 4, 2020, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/lead-poisoning.html#:%7E:text=Lead%20is%20toxic%20to%20everyone,is%20more%20harmful%20to%20them.Revealed: A third of world’s children poisoned by lead, UNICEF. (2020, July 30). UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1069251
