# Should I get tested for lead poisoning? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599 "2009-02-27T02:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/1 "2009-02-27T02:02:50Z")
I know you’re not a doctor, etc. etc…but: Background info-- slightly over a year ago, I stayed in an extremely cheap hotel in Mumbai for approximately a week and a half total. For much of that period, they were scraping the white paint off of all of the walls in order to put a new coat on. The whole place reeked intensely of a paint smell, and weeks later when I came back to the United States some of my clothes still smelled like paint (!). Since this was an extremely cheap hotel, the walls on the rooms did not go all the way up to the ceiling-- they came about two feet short and had an open lattice the rest of the way up (two of my room’s four walls faced the hall and thus were open at the top). Consequently, my room smelled very painty too and I slept with a bandana over my face some nights just to block out the smell/vapors. There was a ton of dust out in the halls where they were scraping, but I don’t remember if there was much in my room. I know this is a bit after the fact, but should I be worried about lead paint? I recently read that 50% of paint in India and China still has extremely high lead levels. I know it was a non-continual exposure, but it was a pretty high-volume one if the paint was indeed bad. Would there even be anything to do about it if I _had_ been exposed, by now? I know this whole post sounds kind of neurotic, but the more I think about this incident the more it worries me. I guess I should have looked into this about a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/2 "2009-02-27T02:17:58Z")
Were you actually _eating_ the paint? If not, then I wouldn’t worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/3 "2009-02-27T02:46:16Z")
My instincts say that as long as you are not a small child, lead poisoning is not that big a deal. (Lead poisoning causes brain damage in small children). However, my instincts are not worth trusting your health to–if you are worried, talk to a medical professional who is better positioned to reassure you. ---
**Author:** ![JustThinkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/4 "2009-02-27T13:39:46Z")
It takes \*a lot \*more lead exposure to harm an adult than it does a child or animal. I’d say you probably didn’t get enough exposure to be a problem. OTOH – if you’re nervous, it can’t hurt to have it tested. ---
**Author:** ![Altair33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Altair33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Altair33)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/5 "2009-03-02T02:44:01Z")
I wouldn’t, partly because adults aren’t very susceptible to lead poisoning and partly because there’s nothing you can do about it if your lead levels are high. There’s no Lead-Be-Gone they can give you. So it’s just one more pointless thing to worry about- forget it and move on. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/6 "2009-03-02T14:35:26Z")
If you want to do it just to put your mind at rest there’s pretty much nothing to the test. They draw a small blood sample and have the test results before you leave the office. (Had to have it done on my son when one of his toys was recalled and he had already gnawed the paint off of it.) ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/7 "2009-03-02T16:00:55Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > My instincts say that as long as you are not a small child, lead poisoning is not that big a deal. (Lead poisoning causes brain damage in small children). Interesting, I thought children are more at risk because they go around eating paint chips, not because they’re simply children. Adults can’t get brain damage due to lead poisoning? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/8 "2009-03-02T21:23:06Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Interesting, I thought children are more at risk because they go around eating paint chips, not because they’re simply children. Adults can’t get brain damage due to lead poisoning? They can, but their brains aren’t developing, so they are more resistant to Lead damage. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-tested-for-lead-poisoning/487599/9 "2009-03-02T22:07:31Z")
> [@Altair33](#): > > I wouldn’t, partly because adults aren’t very susceptible to lead poisoning and partly because there’s nothing you can do about it if your lead levels are high. There’s no Lead-Be-Gone they can give you. So it’s just one more pointless thing to worry about- forget it and move on. See [chelation therapy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelation_therapy). I am **not** saying you need it; just challenging **Altair33** ’s comment.