As an EPA-Certified Lead Paint Risk Assessor, my 10+ years of experience have shown over and over that the finger prick test is very unreliable. I have had numerous experiences, mostly of false positives, that were confirmed as false when a venous blood test was done and processed in a lab. In my experience, the lab processed venous test is the only one that is totally reliable, therefore I find this article potentially misleading to many parents and health providers. It is good that people now know to stay away from the in-house Magellan tests, but they should also be aware that the finger prick is, in many cases, inaccurate itself.
3
Really the problem here is the demand for an 'instant' test. There is no substitute for a lab test using atomic spectroscopy but it takes time and is beyond the scope of a pediatrician's office. This test might be a quick and dirty indication of whether or not there is a potential problem requiring more investigation. But it should not be used as a clinical determination.
3
If they don't live in Trump Tower, the government doesn't have to care.
Most of the detoxification is done by the liver and the kidney. For example, ammonia or lead is taken into the mitochondria of our liver cells and converted into less toxic and water-soluble compounds for excretion while mitochondria perform energy conversion of glucose into ATP energy. Since this process causes excess production of free radicals, livers need to be filled with antioxidants such as vitamin C, A or E, glutathione, CoQ-10. Similarly mitochondria in the cells of all organs, not limited to livers and kidneys, take in toxins and convert them as less toxic and water-soluble compounds. Our body also produces sulfur or selenium contained amino acids or proteins such as metallothionein, selenomethionine, glutathione etc. in order to trap toxins to change into water-soluble compounds. We also need lots of vitamin C to trap toxins like lead or mercury. We are unfortunately least informed of the detoxification processes in our body as most doctors have no idea at all. Most of them don't know how vitamin C trap toxins, or they don't even know the biochemical mechanism of antioxidants.
However, the general public had better learn about mitochondria and their detoxification role because damaged mitochondria is almost all the causes of metabolic diseases such as obese, cancer, type-2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's, cataract, osteoporosis etc.
I would recommend to watch YouTube lectures by Dr. Russell Jaffe, an authority in the detoxification/methylation.
However, the general public had better learn about mitochondria and their detoxification role because damaged mitochondria is almost all the causes of metabolic diseases such as obese, cancer, type-2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's, cataract, osteoporosis etc.
I would recommend to watch YouTube lectures by Dr. Russell Jaffe, an authority in the detoxification/methylation.
Russell Jade is well known to be a fad doctor/quack who is only looking to make himself famous and of his wallet. The idea that childhood lead exposure can be mitigated simply by taking vitamin C is not safe for any parent to believe.
3
To DVK:
I am not suggesting to children for C Cleanse recommended by Dr. Russell Jaffe. I have not heard that he mentions detoxification to children. CDC recommends an apple, red meat and milk for children. All three foods contain necessary nutrients such as vitamin C, sulfur and calcium. Without studying in depth what Dr. Russell Jaffe lectures to medical experts, you are just passing fake news. If you are a doctor, you need to upkeep latest medical researches like all the professionals do in each of their specialties.
I am not suggesting to children for C Cleanse recommended by Dr. Russell Jaffe. I have not heard that he mentions detoxification to children. CDC recommends an apple, red meat and milk for children. All three foods contain necessary nutrients such as vitamin C, sulfur and calcium. Without studying in depth what Dr. Russell Jaffe lectures to medical experts, you are just passing fake news. If you are a doctor, you need to upkeep latest medical researches like all the professionals do in each of their specialties.
You realize blood testing for lead only indicates recent exposure ?
Lead is bound into bone relatively quickly (roughly a month).
Then as the bones remodel (based on diet/exercise), lead is released from the bones.
You can se why both NASA and the VA are now doing bone testing.
Lead is bound into bone relatively quickly (roughly a month).
Then as the bones remodel (based on diet/exercise), lead is released from the bones.
You can se why both NASA and the VA are now doing bone testing.
1
While concerning, this seems like great news that this was caught. While I was a contractor, the EPA made sincere efforts to have contractors inform homeowners of the risks of lead exposure. Where I had discovered lead contamination, it was common for me to suggest that children in that home visit a doctor to have their blood tested.
Waived tests are those which take place outside of the rigid confines of the clinical laboratory. Usually performed by medical assistants or nurses, they have a great track record. Lowering costs and expediting patient care make them favorites (think glucose testing or quick drug tests). Problematically though, there's little opportunity to correct for systematic errors outside of the lab, where medical lab techs and technologists are better equipped to detect anomalies like this.
Waived tests are those which take place outside of the rigid confines of the clinical laboratory. Usually performed by medical assistants or nurses, they have a great track record. Lowering costs and expediting patient care make them favorites (think glucose testing or quick drug tests). Problematically though, there's little opportunity to correct for systematic errors outside of the lab, where medical lab techs and technologists are better equipped to detect anomalies like this.
1
This will impact Flint, no doubt. Wonder how many kids tested clean that aren't.
3
It almost seems like our government no longer cares about poor people.
10
"It almost seems like our government no longer cares about poor people."
Nor roughly 98% of ALL Americans.
Nor roughly 98% of ALL Americans.
6
"Lead is predominantly stored in the human body in calcified tissues; 90-95% of the total lead burden is contained within bone in non-occupationally exposed adults. ........A measure of bone-lead content thus reflects.... long-term or chronic, lead exposure and provides a useful surrogate indicator of the cumulative dose of lead presented over time to the target organs of lead.
"Under conditions where bone physiology is undergoing a period of change, such as during pregnancy, aging and osteoporosis, it would appear that lead can be released from the bone mineral matrix, increasing blood-lead levels and constituting a further source of lead exposure."