Found the toddler chewing on an old lead nail capping

[HumphreyCobbler]

It must have been lying around in the gravel. He may have swallowed a bit of it for all I know.

What should I do? Do I need to take him to the doctor and get his blood tested?

hopeful bump that someone will have some idea of what I should do!

anyone?

No idea! I would ring your GP or 111.

Is he okay in himself?

Yes, he is absolutely fine. I didn't realise it was lead when I first removed it from his mouth, just thought it was a lego bit or something. It is sadly not unusual for him to be chewing on something.

I will phone GP in the morning, thanks for responding.

No problem. My DS always picks things up and shoves them straight in his mouth. Little terrors.

I don't know how bad lead is for adults, nevermind babies! Maybe Google?

www.npis.org/ Says you should call 111 for information.

Thanks Bertie.

Yes to 111 but also gp apt tomorrow if you havent ticked their boxes, you will need a blood test ( yes to the numbing cream first) and go from there. God they worry us sometimes - great that you noticed though... And it will probably be ok and only add to your worry load and stash of tales but do follow up.

I have had a quick google and I definitely will speak to the GP tomorrow first thing.

He is my third, I thought the first one was into everything. I can't believe he managed to find one of those, I think the roof was replaced YEARS ago.

It's a fluke and hopefully he hadn't ingested it, one of mine had theoretically high exposure but was fine, still horrid though and one of those rare moments it can be hard to get care for unless you get the right person. Little buggers

Just to update, the toddler had an x ray and bloods done, the x ray is clear but will have to wait until monday to hear about the blood results.

The doctor initially seemed to think I was only worried about ingesting a bit of metal, but said he would be fine. I mentioned the results of my googling and she was very nice about it, phoned a and e and then sent me off there.

Still can't fathom where the lead washer came from! Thanks for all the responses, I am very grateful.

Glad it is looking ok- good luck with bloods. I too had a doctor telling me it would be fine, I suggested he googled then he disappeared out of the room and came back in as a new and different doctor with more of a clue who then sent me to a and e...

The same thing happened when I got to the hospital, except that they went to check with the registrar rather than google. They were all so nice though and very quick with the blood taking.