Symptoms of Lead Poisoning

Lead is a heavy metal and accumulation of this element in various parts of our body can cause several annoying symptoms. Lead poisoning, also called plumbism, can affect the normal functions of heart, brain, gastrointestinal system, kidney and bones. Lead can get entry to our system through aerosol, water, food and industrial products. One of the major ways through which lead poisoning can occur is dye industry. It is also a major concern to the people who use petrol mixed with lead.

Symptoms of lead poisoning can be of two types – acute poisoning and chronic lead poisoning.

Lead Poisoning

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• Abdominal pain – this is the first non specific symptom of lead poisoning. Cramps may occur after taking food. Nausea and vomiting may also be associated with this symptom. In prolonged case of lead poisoning, loss of appetite and weight loss is prominent.

• Diarrhea – in acute lead poisoning through ingestion of toxic dye, diarrhea precedes abdominal pain. This is a normal physiological procedure to wash out the toxins from our system.

• Low urine volume – in severe acute and chronic case of lead poisoning, urine output becomes low. Lead damages the nephrons – the smallest unit of kidney which filters blood to produce urine. As less surface area is available for filtration, urine output becomes low.

• Irritability – in adults, chronic lead poisoning can make a person irritable or belligerent. He may become hyperactive or distracted from focus of his primary objectives.

• Difficulty in learning – in children, this may be a major cause of concern. Accumulation of lead into the central nervous system can lead to faulty synapse formation of the neurons. There may also be developmental disorders like increased age for learning hopping, drawing, fine motor skills, social attachment and memory. Academic excellence is also hampered in cases of children with chronic lead exposure.

• Pain in the extremities – pain in hands and feet is common in adults with chronic lead poisoning. This is again due to impaired function of neurons. Arthritis can develop due to accumulation of uric acid in the joint spaces.

• Anemia – lead can suppress several enzymes required in synthesis of hemoglobin. Therefore, chronic lead poisoning can produce anemia. In patients with lead poisoning, a specific characteristic of the red blood cells called Basophilic stippling can be seen in peripheral blood smear.

• Sterility – lead can affect both male and female reproductive systems. In males, the sperm count is reduced due to faulty functioning of testes. The morphology and motility are also affected. Females with chronic lead poisoning can experience abortion or delivery of premature baby.

• Easy fracture of bones – deposition of lead in the bones makes them brittle which can crack after trivial injury.

• High blood pressure – chronic lead poisoning increases blood pressure and there is increased chance of heart attack.

Man has been mining lead since thousands of years with direct contact with this toxic material. There have been reports of patients having similar condition from medieval age and symptoms of lead poisoning were known to medical practitioners since then.