Expert Advice: 2 ways to protect kids from lead paint in old homes
Advice from Upstate pediatrician Travis Hobart, MD, on ways to protect your child from the lead-based paint found in some older homes. Hobart is the medical director of the Central and Eastern New York Lead Poisoning Resource Center.
Host Amber Smith: Here's some expert advice from Dr. Travis Hobart from Upstate Medical University. What can parents do if they're living at a home with lead paint?
Travis Hobart, MD: If you're living in a home that might have old lead paint, couple of things that you can do for your family and for your children: One thing is making sure your child is getting good nutrition, because if they have enough iron and enough calcium and enough vitamin C in their system, then they will absorb less lead from their environment. So I think it's important to make sure they're getting good nutrition. If you're afraid that they're not eating well or something like that, certainly talk to their doctor, or maybe consider using a multivitamin with your doctor's advice and approval. So I think that's an important aspect of prevention.
And then the other thing that I would recommend for families to do is: if you think that there's lead paint in your home, it's important when you're cleaning to do it with a mop or a wet wipe rather than a broom, because if you sweep up the lead dust, it just kicks it up into the air, and then it resettles down on the floor. And so the important thing is to mop it up or wipe it with a wet wipe so that you're getting it out of the environment and keeping your kids from being exposed.
Host Amber Smith: You've been listening to Dr. Travis Hobart from Upstate Medical University.
