A blood test is the only reliable means of assessing a child's exposure to lead. Often, a child with an elevated blood lead level will exhibit no apparent symptoms. But, even low level exposure can result in lowered mental capabilities if the exposure is sustained.

People with high levels of lead in their bodies often do not seem sick. The symptoms that occur are very general and can happen for many reasons. Your local public health clinic or family doctor can do a simple blood test to find out if there is too much lead in the blood. This blood test involves taking a sample of blood from your child's finger or a vein in the arm. If the blood sample shows a problem with lead, more testing will be done.

Increased childhood health problems, such as anemia, speech and language delays, hearing problems, kidney damage, seizure, and in rare cases of extremely high levels, even death.

Many times the lead poisoned child does not have any symptoms. The only way to find out if a child has lead poisoning is to do the lead test.

Many parents believe the major culprit to be thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines and other medications. Thimerosal is 50% mercury by weight. In October 1998, the FDA banned the use of thimerosal in over the counter medications, but it is still used in most vaccines. Since multiple vaccines are often given on the same day, the amount of mercury injected into a typical infant exceeds the EPA's "safe" limits.

Yes, exposure to lead on the job or through hobbies can affect your health. You can also bring lead particles and dust home on your clothing or equipment that can harm young children.

The best way to find out whether your water has lead in it, is to have it tested. Please call the Water Company for a list of approved laboratories in the area that you can call to have your water tested for led.

A blood test is the best way to test for lead. If your child is on Medicaid, you can get this test for free. Ask your doctor or health care provider to test your children for lead.

The most important thing is to have your child tested for lead. The next most important thing is to make sure that he has a healthy diet.

No two autistic kids are alike, but there are some signs that many of them share and that experts agree may be as recognizable as early as the toddler years, or even sooner. Children on the spectrum generally have difficulty relating to others; they may hardly speak, and if they do, they may not communicate in ways that other people can easily understand (they may screech loudly when they're upset, for example, instead of crying).

If you are observing impairment in eye contact, social skills and communication, and increased participation in restricted or repetitive behaviors, you should have your child evaluated. This evaluation will determine if your child meets the diagnostic criteria for an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Children should be told they have epilepsy. Social workers and psychologists have found that trying to hide the true nature of an illness often adds to the child's fear and confusion. The type and amount of information you give will depend on your child's age and maturity. The Epilepsy Foundation has books you can use to teach your child about epilepsy. Many children have seizures during their childhood. Not all seizures need to be treated with medication.

If your child does not have seizures during the day and is not experiencing any behavior or learning problems, you may not need to tell anyone at school. On the other hand, teachers certainly need to know about seizures that occur during the school day. The teacher also can play a vital role in helping to manage your child's epilepsy. Information about seizure activity, medication side effects, or any change in behavior during the school day will be very valuable for you and your doctor.

In the first instance you should suspect it in any child who has difficulties with spelling, writing and math/s when the child appears to be otherwise normal in their conversation. There are other reasons for children to have difficulties with spelling, writing and math/s, of course: they may have missed out on some of their schooling, they may have hearing or vision problems, or they may have experienced poor teaching.

No, it is a very faint scent unless you really put your nose down into the hair. Even then a child can just say it is the smell of a hair conditioner or shampoo and say no more than that.

Yes. Please do not forget to visit your doctor and make sure any member of your family who may have been affected also visits their GP. Even if the CO has not been established, it is important to inform your doctor of the symptoms. This can help with a correct diagnosis and it can also help you to prove your case. Being brave may be laudable but in court you may be made to look ridiculous and be asked, 'you say you felt so bad you thought you were dying, yet you did not seek medical advice?'

The government estimates that in excess of 400 children are lead poisoned each year in San Francisco. If your child is one of them, please contact The Keane Law Firm to see if we can help you help him or her bring a valid claim against the landlords and contractors responsible for poisoning them with lead. Yes, a minor child may maintain an action for negligence against his parent. See Gibson v.

Your child can be tested for lead poisoning at your physician's office. Your physician needs to order the test. You may want to request that your physician order the test if your child is between 6 months and 6 years of age and is at risk for lead poisoning. For more information, call 303-692-2700.

Just enter your ZIP code . . . if you are like me, doctors will turn up a thousand miles away. -- barb A scientist believes chronic fatigue syndrome could be caused by common chemicals like head lice treatments and insect repellents. His tests show chemicals which are relatively harmless used separately, can become highly toxic to the brain when used together. ..

Listed below are symptoms that could indicate your child is developing or has asthma. However, the diagnosis of asthma is done by a healthcare provider in three ways: medical history, physical exam and lung function test.