Can pencils cause lead poisoning?

I believe everyone has heard of lead poisoning. Lead poisoning is a very serious disease. If it is a mild lead poisoning, it can easily lead to anemia in patients. The harm of anemia is also very great, causing dizziness, headache and even shock in patients. In addition, lead poisoning can also affect many systems of the human body, such as heart function and digestive system, etc. In life, we often use pencils, so can pencils cause lead poisoning?

Can pencils cause lead poisoning?

It's called a "lead" pen. The core is graphite, which is not poisonous. But the paint on the outside may contain trace amounts of heavy metals or other harmful substances, but it's not a big deal.

There are many things we use daily that contain lead, such as popcorn, preserved eggs, puffed food, roadside barbecue, fruits and vegetables sprayed with pesticides, lead-containing tableware; such as cosmetics, accessories, etc., which can easily cause lead poisoning. People who often engage in metal smelting work or work on the roadside are prone to lead poisoning. Another situation that cannot be ignored is the inhalation of harmful substances caused by industrial pollution and automobile exhaust.

What are the clinical manifestations of lead poisoning?

1. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and black stool.

2. Headache, dizziness, insomnia, even irritability and coma.

3. Palpitations, pale complexion, and anemia.

4. Vasospasm, liver and kidney damage.

5. Acute poisoning victims have a metallic taste in the mouth, drooling, nausea, and vomiting. The vomitus is often in the form of white milky lumps (lead forms white lead chloride in the stomach). They also have abdominal pain, sweating, irritability, and refusal to eat.

6. In acute lead poisoning, persistent vomiting (may be projectile) may suddenly occur, accompanied by increased breathing and pulse, ataxia, strabismus, convulsions, coma, etc. At this time, blood pressure may increase and optic disc edema may occur.

7. Severe lead poisoning often presents with paroxysmal abdominal colic, and may also cause hepatomegaly, jaundice, oliguria or anuria, circulatory failure, etc. A few may also have gastrointestinal bleeding and paralytic intestinal obstruction. Patients with a longer illness period also have anemia, a gray face (leady complexion), palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, etc., and their teeth and nails are stained black due to lead deposition. Sometimes limb paralysis may be seen. If intercostal muscle paralysis occurs, breathing difficulties or even respiratory failure may occur.

8. Severe central nervous system lesions, such as epileptic seizures, excessive movement, aggressive behavior, delayed or even loss of language function, but no signs of acute increased intracranial pressure. This type of chronic brain disease is associated with regular excessive intake of lead.

First aid methods:

1. For those who are poisoned orally, you can immediately give them a large amount of strong tea or warm water to stimulate the throat to induce vomiting, and then drink milk, egg white, or soy milk to protect the gastric mucosa.

2. For those with abdominal pain, you can use hot compress or take 0.5-1.0 mg of atropine orally.

3. For the unconscious person, foreign objects in the mouth should be cleared promptly to keep the airway open to prevent foreign objects from accidentally entering the trachea or respiratory tract and causing suffocation.

4. After treatment, the patient should be sent to the hospital for emergency treatment immediately to avoid wasting time and endangering the patient's life.