Lead poisoning, among other cases of toxic effects on humans, surely occupies the first line. Lead is one of the most common "slow poisons" that can quietly accumulate in tissues and organs. This is the first metal that served man long before the creation of blast furnaces and the manufacture of less harmless alloys. Its softness and plasticity was appreciated in Egypt when creating combs and brushes, and the Romans laid lead water pipes. It is not known why Caesar and Cleopatra actually died ... Maybe the lead is to blame?
In the Middle Ages, metal was used instead of slate; rings and stamps were made from it. According to one version, the cause of Beethoven’s death was called lead poisoning. Until the end of the 19th century, people had no idea about the toxicity of the composition, it was added to wine instead of sugar. In the modern world, despite the restrictions on the use of this metal in industries, in the paint and varnish, household and chemical industries, it is not possible to avoid the harmful effects of it.
How does it enter the body?
The source of infection can be things, products and electrical appliances - an old painted chest of drawers, a container of water, potatoes grown on "bad soil" and even a jar of sprats. Lead is used as solder in the manufacture of canned food in an alloy with tin, and during long-term storage can react with products. It is important to remember that if more than two years have passed since the production of canned food, then, most likely, lead has already entered into a reaction. In history, there are at least fifty confirmed cases where travelers died due to lead poisoning precisely because of improperly preserved foods. And the term "scurvy" is nothing but the manifestation of symptoms of severe intoxication with a poisonous metal.
The combination of tin and lead is very common today. To connect pipelines and cables, in batteries - this alloy is used everywhere. When heated, lead can vaporize some toxic fumes.
Emissions to a greater extent, city dust, smoke from cigarettes - to a lesser extent contain toxic lead, its vapor and compounds settle for years in the lungs, accumulate in the digestive tract and slowly poison the body. Cases of acute poisoning are frequent. To a greater extent, this is associated with professional risks - most often poisoning of this nature is received by smelters, printing houses - in violation of safety regulations, when working with dangerous vapors and compounds.
Why continue to use?
Lead is a unique metal. It has high strength, is not susceptible to corrosion, does not transmit radiation, is sufficiently ductile, and is easily mined. It is used for the manufacture of fire fighting equipment, since its melting point is very low - minus 327 degrees. Sea or river vessels are often coated with lead compounds, thus eliminating metal corrosion. For the same reason, some machine parts are made from lead, used in the creation of shells and bullets, and due to the ability to contain radiation, the substance is used as a protective coating for rooms at nuclear hydroelectric power stations, in enterprises where the risk of radiation is high. Lead can be found even in a hospital. Plates of this metal protect a person during x-rays. Lead is used in the manufacture of whitewash and putty, a certain amount is present in paints. Thanks to him, they dry very quickly.
It is possible to get a dose of lead in a “ecologically clean place”. Sometimes toxic poisons enter the soil from rivers that poison chemical plants. Products grown here can also cause lead poisoning. It is estimated that a third of the toxic substance a person receives is through the use of food and even water. Often poisonous can be mushrooms collected at the side of the road. By the concentration of harmful derivatives of lead, even a white mushroom, collected in a "dirty place", easily turns into a grebe.
Risk group - children!
Lead is contained in rechargeable batteries and batteries! Unattended children often swallow them, especially for “tablet” type flat batteries. In addition to a burn of the esophagus, this can cause severe lead intoxication. Metal and its compounds may be contained in the paints coated with toys. Especially if they were made before the 60s of the last century. Especially dangerous is yellow. In addition, poor quality products, especially those made in China, do not always have certificates of conformity. Therefore, toxic-smelling toys can be a potential threat. Peeling frames in old houses is one of the main causes of lead poisoning in children. In paint and whitewash, released in the first half of the 20th century and earlier, lead was used. Pieces of paint get stuck under the nails and easily fall into the mouth. Due to its nature, the child’s body is not able to quickly remove toxic products. Up to five years, it absorbs up to 40% of the toxic dose, while in adults this figure reaches 10. Especially dangerous are pairs of car exhausts. In combination with decay products, lead can lead to loss of consciousness and death in a few minutes.
Dosage and Absorption
By the way, the possibility of absorption in each person may be different. We all remember the story of Rasputin, which was not affected by the horse dose of potassium cyanide - the strongest synthetic poison known to mankind. The fact is that the deficiency of certain trace elements can affect the indicators of “absorption” of lead. If the human body lacks zinc, calcium or iron, then the solubility of the metal in the body will be lower, because poisoning will occur more slowly.
Lead in some quantities is part of cosmetics: eyeliners, eye shadows and eyeliners. It is better to buy expensive and natural cosmetics that have certificates of compliance with GOST.
Amounts of poison accumulation in numbers
In a day, the kidneys of a healthy person can be excreted from the body - 100 micrograms of lead. At the same time, a person living in a “gas-polluted” area inhales 150 micrograms of metal daily. The difference settles in the tissues and organs. Of this amount, 5% accumulates in the blood, 90% penetrates into the bone tissue, is mineralized there and “falls asleep”, without causing much discomfort.
However, settling in the bones, lead gradually displaces calcium, which in the end, as a result of prolonged intoxication, leads to osteoporosis. Such manifestations are characteristic of chronic lead poisoning. The remaining 5% is the most problematic part, they settle in the kidneys and nerve tissues. The process of decay of protein cells begins. Lead changes their structure, depriving cells of the ability to divide, eat, and produce metabolic reactions. In the tissues, the inflammatory process begins. Or intoxication.
How to diagnose lead poisoning?
The first symptoms of lead poisoning are often invisible to humans. Poisoning can only be determined using a blood test.
The results are likely to be low hemoglobin, an increased number of reticulocytes or erythrocyte cells that have lost their nucleus. The calculation technology is as follows - for 1 thousand red blood cells, the number of nuclear-free should normally be one percent. If more - then, most likely, there is poisoning. In urine, the concentration of porphyrins increases, which indicates a violation of the function of the liver, and the metal itself is determined. Sometimes its increased concentration can lead to the occurrence of malignant tumors in this organ. By affecting the liver cells, lead provokes hepatitis. The liver increases significantly, bilirubin levels increase in the blood, jaundice develops. To confirm acute damage to the central nervous system or lead encephalopathy, a protein is present in the urinalysis.
Auxiliary diagnostic methods:
- Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and liver.
- Cardiogram of the heart.
- X-ray of the lungs, with poisoning by lead vapor.
- Pressure measurement.
Lead Poisoning - Symptoms
Signs of lead poisoning manifest themselves to varying degrees. One of the most striking, which immediately will take on itself, is the change in the color of the gums. They acquire a grayish-cyanotic shade.
A specific chemical reaction occurs between the hydrogen sulfide present in saliva and lead derivatives. By the way, the same color of the gums is obtained with poisoning with both lead and mercury. Only the taste is bitter when mercury poisoning, and lead - sweet. But to clarify the diagnosis, it is necessary to donate blood.
Anemia and pallor of the skin. This is primarily due to a decrease in the concentration of healthy red blood cells in the blood. A high concentration of porphyrins may appear as spots on the face.
With persistent chronic lead poisoning, an inflammatory process of nerves in the arms and legs develops: a person feels weakness in the muscles, the gait becomes “staggering", the legs give way, sometimes the feet and hands lose their sensitivity.
One of the serious symptoms of chronic lead poisoning is encephalopathy. A person is tormented by persistent migraines and insomnia, intracranial pressure rises to critical, mortality from this condition is very high and reaches 40 percent. A person cannot control his emotions: he is either lethargic or irritable. This condition is accompanied by seizures, there are seizures similar to epileptic, hallucinations occur. One of the complications of encephalopathy in lead poisoning is meningitis.
Irreversible changes are observed in the intestines. In addition to irregular, sometimes with blood stool, constipation, nausea, a person may experience sharp cramping abdominal pain.
The fact is that lead affects the vagus nerve in an irritating way. This causes a spasm of the intestinal muscles, but the intestinal loops are relaxed. Such a desynchronization of the intestines leads to stool disruption and even the development of persistent intestinal obstruction.
How to diagnose lead colic on your own?
- Lie on your back, try to relax.
- When the abdomen is pulled in, the pain is released. Dense pressure is felt, the stomach becomes “stone”.
- Poisoned suffers constipation for several days. No laxatives help.
- In the language of white plaque.
Lead affects the human endocrine system. In case of poisoning with heavy metals, lead and mercury, hyperthyroidism, or excessive production of the hormone thyroxine, is diagnosed. Which negatively affects male strength, and also leads to disruption of the menstrual cycle. A person loses weight, sweats heavily, is prone to apathy and depression.
No less dangerous is poisoning by lead compounds. The most common of these is lead acetate, or “lead sugar”. In small doses, it is still used in dyeing fabrics, in the chemical and cosmetic industries, and in pharmaceuticals. Poisoning can occur due to the use of low-quality lipstick, or shadows. This type of lead is used for the manufacture of certain solutions, ointments and plasters.
Lead “flushes” the most important vitamins from the body, especially C and B1. Therefore, when poisoning with this substance, multivitamins and a special diet are prescribed as therapy.
How to treat?
Treatment for lead poisoning should begin immediately. Procedure:
- Remove lead from the body. Activated carbon can help. The following preparations may have absorbent properties.
- If swallowing lead-containing substances, vomiting is immediately necessary. This can easily be done using a solution of warm water in a concentration of 1 one liter tablespoon of salt.
- Eat or drink products that have an enveloping effect. It can be milk, jelly, a decoction of flaxseed. These products will create a thin film in the stomach that inhibits the absorption of toxic substances.
- Taking antidotes. They bind the absorbed lead ions and remove them from the body: Unitiol, Sodium Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetate, Succimer, D-Penicillamine. Foods rich in magnesium, selenium, calcium, vitamins A and C have similar properties.
- In acute poisoning, it is necessary to monitor the state of vital organs: heart, lungs, and kidneys.
- Medication for the symptoms and consequences of poisoning, for example, restoration of bowel or liver function.
It is important to remember that poisoning or chronic lead intoxication leaves its consequences. The sooner treatment is started, the less complications there will be.
How to protect yourself?
Prevention of occupational lead poisoning. First of all, it is the observance of safety measures when working with lead and its vapors. At risk are representatives of professions such as welders, printing workers, pharmacists, steelworkers, radiologists, hydroelectric power engineers, and nuclear submariners.
Prevention of lead poisoning in everyday life. Chronic lead poisoning can occur in your home. This is especially true of private houses of old construction, until the 60s. Very often, paints and whitewash, as well as plaster, have a high lead content. As we recall, this metal can accumulate after entering into a chemical reaction. Therefore, when exfoliating paint, wallpaper in old houses, gloves and a respirator must be used. In order not to grab the “dose”, it is better to get rid of old things, especially dishes with lead compounds, if necessary, replace pipes or install water purification systems.
It is very important to monitor whether your children wash their hands when they come from a walk. Young children should not be left unattended. Remove their battery and wire line of sight. When buying paint for home, cosmetics and toys, require certificates of conformity, which indicate the maximum standards for lead content. If poisoning is suspected, take preventative measures immediately.