A 21st-century man interacts daily with millions and billions of chemicals and compounds. Some of them are harmless, while others are dangerous. Many of the chemicals can cause severe acute and chronic poisoning. Persons living in large cities are particularly prone to poisoning. One such chemically active substance is lead.
According to medical statistics, lead poisoning and its compounds occur most often and are in first place among other toxic lesions of the body. In order not to become a victim of this metal, you should learn more about it, about the methods of poisoning and about how to provide first aid.
General information about lead, metal poisoning risk factors
Lead is a metal with neurotoxic and hepatotoxic effects. In addition, this substance often leads to damage to the hematopoietic system of the body and kidneys. Chronic toxic lesions of lead are more common. There are a number of risk factors that increase the likelihood of poisoning with this dangerous metal:
• Accommodation in a large city. Especially when it comes to industrial cities. In megacities, lead is ubiquitous: from food to water and air.
• Living close to industrial enterprises. Of particular danger are factories in the textile industry, paint and varnish industry, and machine-building enterprises.
• Belonging to the female sex. Women, for reasons not fully understood, are more prone to lead poisoning.
• Childhood. The vast majority of poisonings occur in the age of six months to six years. Often intoxication occurs even in the womb. This is extremely dangerous, since the effect of metal on the fetus leads to mental retardation and pathologies of physical development.
• Work in enterprises actively using lead. These are all the same paint and varnish, machine-building and other plants and factories.
According to WHO statistics, approximately 144 thousand people die each year from lead poisoning. In Russia and the CIS countries this problem is not so acute, but if a person belongs to a risk group, it makes sense to pay more attention to your health.
Causes of lead poisoning, ways of penetration of lead into the body
There are several causes of lead poisoning. They are closely related to the pathways of metal entering the body.
• The most common cause of lead poisoning is nutritional. Lead enters the human body with food. For this reason, it is necessary with great care to purchase vegetables and fruits from private merchants in markets, highways, etc. In the first case, the risk is high that the local soil contains lead, in the second - that the lead particles got on food from passing cars and other vehicles.
• You can get poisoned, including if a person uses dishes made of lead or coated with lead glaze.
• The long-standing Soviet habit of preparing alcoholic beverages on your own can lead to disastrous consequences. Moonshine stills have many lead parts. With the "haul" of the mash, the liquid picks up particles of lead. By drinking such alcohol, a person is almost guaranteed to receive acute poisoning.
• Inhalation of vapors of paints and varnishes containing metal compounds can result in poisoning. Such paints include whitewash, lead red lead, etc.
• Old houses also pose a great danger. Lead pipes begin to give particles of lead to water.
• Work involving contact with lead. For example, when welding metal, lead is released. Also, there is a high probability of inhalation of metal vapor in specialized enterprises. In addition to those already mentioned, we are talking about printing houses, etc.
• You can also poison yourself by inhaling ordinary household dust.
Thus, the main distribution paths of lead are soil, water, and air.
All symptoms of lead poisoning
In medical science, acute and chronic lead poisoning is isolated. Acute, as is already known, appear less often, but proceed much harder. Based on the foregoing, all the symptoms of lead poisoning can be divided as follows:
• Symptoms of acute poisoning.
• Symptoms of chronic poisoning.
Symptoms of acute lead poisoning
Acute poisoning is manifested in three degrees of severity:
• Mild intoxication leads to many non-specific symptoms. In this case, signs of lead poisoning include:
- Headache. One of the leading signs of lead poisoning. Pain syndrome with mild poisoning is not pronounced. However, although the pain is mild, it lasts a long time and is practically not relieved by analgesics. Patients describe it as aching, dull, in the back of the head.
- Dizziness. Called by toxic brain damage. The intensity of dizziness varies from case to case.
- Inadequate perspiration. It can both rise and fall.
- Desires for vomiting. Irritation of the vomiting center leads to reflex urge to vomit. Regardless of the fullness of the stomach, urges may occur periodically.
- Weakness. A feeling of weakness, weakness is characteristic of lead intoxication.
- Drowsiness.
- Confusion.
- Muscle stiffness. It is a feeling of stiffness in movements.
- Tingling in arms and legs, decreased sensitivity of nerve endings.
• The average degree of poisoning, in addition to the symptoms already mentioned, is characterized by:
- A critical increase in blood pressure to numbers from 200 to 120 and above. This phenomenon alone can cause death.
- Constipation. Unlike other poisonings, constipation in lead poisoning is persistent.
Pain in the abdomen is cramping in nature.
• In severe cases, muscle paralysis occurs, kidneys, liver and other organs are affected. High probability of death.
For chronic poisoning, all the same symptoms are characteristic, only blurry. In some cases, chronic poisoning occurs without symptoms at all. The main way to identify carriage to lead is to look at the gums. Along the edge of the gums, a purple and gray stripe will be visible.
First Aid for Lead Poisoning
It is impossible to cure a person who has received lead poisoning on his own. At the first suspicion, an ambulance must be called urgently. Before the arrival of doctors, it is necessary to stabilize the patient's condition and reduce the destructive effect of the substance on the body. For this, a set of measures is being taken to provide first aid for lead poisoning.
Measures include:
• Cleansing the stomach of its contents. To do this, induce vomiting. This can be done in the traditional way. The patient drinks 3-5 glasses of salted water, and then presses it on the root of the tongue, thereby causing vomiting. The procedure is recommended to be repeated 3-4 times for complete cleansing. You can take emetics.
• In case of long-term poisoning (over 4 hours), the intestines must also be cleaned. For these purposes, use a laxative (Glauber's salt) or an enema (using an Esmarch mug or douche if the child is injured).
• Reception of adsorbents: activated carbon, white clay, etc. Calculation: 3 tablets per 10 kg of weight. About 6-10 grams of drugs.
• Reception of funds enveloping the walls of the stomach. This is usually about food. Ideal milk, jelly, a decoction of flaxseed.
• Increased urine output. For this, diuretics are used.
• If the patient suffers from lead colic (intense pain in the abdomen), it is recommended to fill the heating pad with warm water and put it on the stomach. This will help reduce the intensity of the pain.
Lead Poisoning Treatment
The treatment is aimed at removing residual lead from the body, as well as eliminating complications. If the first aid is carried out correctly, doctors need to maintain the achieved result. To treat lead poisoning, adsorbents, diuretics (in order to avoid cerebral edema), antidotes (Kuprimin, etc.) are prescribed. Symptomatic treatment of anemia and other "side" pathologies is carried out.
Lead Poisoning Prevention
Preventive measures are aimed at eliminating the possibility of interaction with this metal, or, if this is not possible, at reducing the toxic effects of lead. The following actions are taken to prevent lead poisoning:
• Observe safety precautions when working in enterprises of the appropriate profile.
• Do not open windows during the night and until noon. Factories and plants release harmful substances during these hours.
• You should not buy products from individuals and especially on the tracks.
• All foods should be washed thoroughly.
• In areas with a high concentration of lead in the body, it is recommended to consume milk regularly.
• Never use lead glassware.
Lead poisoning is extremely dangerous. Everyone can suffer. To avoid this, it is necessary to carefully follow the prescribed recommendations for the prevention of poisoning, and if it happened, immediately consult a doctor.
