Children, the most exposed to the toxic effects of lead

This situation can be given by exposure to contaminated elements such as pipes of pipes, dust or lead soil that can come from industrial emissions, recycling processes, lead presence in paintings (which makes it lead in the air),Some foods and toys or low quality cosmetics, among others.

Children are usually more exposed to this metal, since they absorb 4 or 5 times more lead than adults, breathe faster, take more water and food per unit of body weight than adults, have greater air absorption, the air, thewater or food, and have a higher risk of contaminated soil ingestion, since they play outdoors near the floor;It is estimated that on average a child can ingest between 100 and 400 micrograms of soil per day.(Sibaté: What happened to the community to which Colombia owes the decision to recover the Bogotá River?)

“Although only estimates have been made in Colombia regarding blood lead cases, in some areas such as Malambo (Atlantic) studies have been advanced where we have found much higher levels than 10 lead deciliters in children who live in high -areasEnvironmental or industrial pollution, which should worry and motivate action. ”

This is warnedPrevent it? ”, Of the #Saludunalcontigo program, of the Faculty of Medicine.(For excess lead in Lake Tota the Attorney General's Office interposes guardianship)

A care metal

Since the time of the Roman Empire, when used to manufacture pipes and containers, lead has been a metal widely used for its malleability properties, corrosion resistance and acids, high conductivity, durability and ability to join other metals.

According to Doctor Combariza, one of the main places where lead has been found is in the pipes, car batteries, many types of paintings, poor quality toys and gasoline, although it was prohibited several years ago.It is also present in welds, ammunition, some artisanal kitchen utensils (paint), cosmetics, cable coating and electronic waste, one of the main roads through which it reaches the environment.

“Lead enters especially due to ingestion, for example when a child eats paint or drinking contaminated water.But also by inhalation, which is the most frequent in an occupational environment, where workers are exposed to vapors or particles and their clothes can be impregnated.In relatively recent constructions they do not use lead, but some old houses may have materials that represent health risk, ”warns the specialist.

Various symptoms

Although lead tends to affect the central nervous system, it also has an affinity to be located in the bones, where it can last up to 20 years before circulating again through the blood, replacing calcium and making them more prone to fractures.

“With high exhibitions to lead, the person can experience different symptoms both gastrointestinal (anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain) as cardiovascular that can lead to hypertension, liver and kidney injuries, and there may be discomfort, especially due to inhalation and neurological effectsassociated with sleepy or seizures in very high doses, ”says the specialist.

Few poisoning diagnoses

According to data from the National Institute of Health (INS), in 2020 only 43 cases of metal poisoning were reported (which includes lead).“What happens is that diagnosing metal poisoning is not simple, you should have a high capacity for chemical suspicion and know the patient's context a lot to rule it out;It is not that there are no cases, it is that they have not been found or diagnosed, ”warns the UNAL professor

He adds that “so far from 2021 almost 21,000 poisonings have been recorded, half of them associated with suicide attempts, something commonly reported in toxicology, but another 10,000 are of the accidentals, of which only 23 have been diagnosed as poisoningBy metals, so that although the behavior remains the same, it does not mean that we do not have it. ”