Four Sources of Lead Poisoning You May Not Know About

 

Lead poisoning is a very serious threat and can have dire medical consequences. Because of this, most people take care to remove items that can contain lead from their homes, like lead-based paint. Unfortunately, lead is still finding its way inside of homes and many times, in surprising ways. By learning about the unique ways lead can get inside of the home and in the neighborhood, you too can take the necessary action to protect your family. Here are four common sources of lead poisoning which may surprise you:

 

Lead in the Walls

One way that you or your family can be subject to lead poisoning is through home improvements. This isn’t something that people think about in most cases. Most of the time they are so focused on removing the lead from obvious places, such as the lead in lead paint and pipes, that they neglect to remember that lead could be in the very structure of their home, as well. This is especially true in homes or buildings built in the 1970s or earlier. If you have an older home, you should always assume there is lead in the walls until you have conducted a test with negative results.

 

Lead in the Playground

You might think it’s safe to allow your children to play on the playground, but did you know that they could be subject to lead poisoning? Even if the equipment itself is not made of lead, the soil underneath could have lead in it. Many times, playgrounds are built where older structures stood. If those structures had lead in them, it could still be in the soil.

 

Lead in Children’s Toys

Everyone gives their children toys, and most toys are now made overseas. The problem? Other countries, where these toys are produced, don’t have the same regulations when it comes to lead that the US does and because of that, it is certainly possible that lead could be part of these toys. This is also often the case with older toys. Try to keep your children from playing with toys that are cheap looking or old and encourage them to keep all toys out of their mouth, as this is the easiest way to absorb lead.

 

Lead in the Water

Finally, you might be surprised to find that lead poisoning can occur from drinking lead tainted water that might be coming right out of your own faucets. Pipes in both new and older houses can contain lead. Though new homes are not fitted with lead pipes like older homes were, the way modern copper pipes are soldered together could expose your drinking water to lead. A Toronto plumber, representing Mister Plumber, reports that an estimated 10% – 20% of all lead poisoning today is from drinking tainted water. If your home or pipes are outdated, you may want to consider having them tested for lead.

 

If you suspect that your home or environment may contain lead, take steps today to test for lead and keep your family safe. Lead poisoning should not be taken lightly, as it can lead to serious health complications and sometimes death.

Categories: lead, poisioning, sources

How to Take Control of Stressful Situations in Your Life

Sometimes stress seems out of your control; there’s always bills to pay, family to look after, work to go to and never enough hours to do it all – but you have more power over stress than your think. In fact, the first step to mental health and wellness is realising that you are in control of your own life. Managing stress is all about taking charge of your wellbeing, so how do you do it?

 

1. Identify stress sources: The true sources of your stress aren’t always obvious, especially because you can easily overlook your own stress-inducing thought patterns, feelings and behaviours. For example, work deadlines are a common stressor, but maybe the real stress lies in your procrastination at work.

 

2. Look at your current coping mechanisms: How do you currently manage and cope with stress in your life? Starting a stress journal – in which you note the cause of your stress, your physical and emotional response, how you acted in response and what you did to make yourself feel better – can help you identify your coping mechanisms. Unhealthy coping strategies include smoking, drinking, over- or under-eating, withdrawing from others, zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer, drugs, oversleeping, procrastinating, taking things out on others and filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems.

 

3. Avoid unnecessary stress: While it’s not always healthy or even possible to avoid stressful situations, you can eliminate a number of stressors in your life.

• When you’re reaching your limit of what you can handle, learn how to say know when someone tries to pile on more to do.


• If you have a person in your life who consistently causes you stress you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.


• If environmental factors cause you stress, change your environment. This means turning off the evening news if it makes you anxious, travelling a different way home if traffic makes you tense, or doing your food shopping online if going to the supermarket is such a chore.


• If hot-button topics – like religion or politics – make you upset, stop bringing them up in conversation. If someone else starts talking about things you don’t want to talk about, change the subject or excuse yourself.

 

4. Alter the situation: If you can’t avoid it; change it! Adapting the way you communicate and interact with others can change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. If a situation or person bothers you, don’t bottle up those feelings but share them in an open and respectful way. Resentment only compounds the problem, but make sure you’re willing to compromise and change your behaviour too. If you both bend a little bit, you can find a happy middle ground. While you can’t alter stressful situations while they’re happening, managing your time better the next time around can help prevent the amount of stress you find yourself under.

 

5. Adapt to the stressor: If you can’t change or avoid the stressor, you can always change your own expectations and attitude. Try to look at these stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Instead of getting irate over a traffic jam, seize it as an opportunity to think or listen to some music and sing in the car. Ask yourself if these problems will be all that important tomorrow, in a year or in 10 years from now. Looking at the big picture will help you to focus your time and energy on things that matter.

Categories: Adapt, avoid, change, coping mechanisms, life, nbsp, sources, Stress, stressful situations