Health Plan of San Joaquin | Focus Your Health | Winter 2020

Focus Your Health 3 Lead screening: A simple way to protect your child Lead can hurt children's brains, even at low levels. Some effects never go away. Even low lev- els of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ and ability to pay attention. It is important to prevent lead exposure. You can reduce exposure by doing the following:  ✔ Test your home for lead. If your home was built before 1978, talk with the public health department about getting your home tested for lead. For San Joaquin County, call 209.468.2593 . For Stanislaus County, call 209.558.7000 .  ✔ Before any work is done on your home, learn about safe ways to make repairs. Seal off the area until the job is done and keep your child away until everything is clean.   ✔ Keep your children away from old windows, old porches, and areas with chipping or peeling paint. If you rent your home, let your landlord know about any peeling or chipping paint. In the meantime, you can cover areas with duct tape or contact paper until it can be completely removed.  ✔ Do not allow your child to play in the dirt next to an old home.  ✔ Clean your home regularly. Wipe down floors and other level surfaces.  ✔ Teach your children to wash their hands, especially before eating. Wash pacifiers and toys regularly.  ✔ Keep clean. If your work or hobbies involve lead, change your clothes and shoes and shower when finished. Keep your clothes at work or wash your work clothes as soon as possible.  ✔ Get a blood test. The only way to know for sure if your child has been exposed to lead is with a blood test. All children should have blood lead screening tests at ages 12 months and 24 months. Any child between 24 and 72 months with no record of a blood lead screening test should also get a blood lead test. Talk to your child’s provider to see if this test is right for your child.