Exposed to lead paint dust 28 weeks pregnant

[B0bby22]

Hi, my partner has been stripping wallpaper in our hallway today and I was helping to begin with and then was sat on the stairs just chatting/watching. I noticed a lot of dust had settled around the house so I tested it with a lead swab test and it came back pink which shows lead. I've now gone into full panic mode after googling lead exposure during pregnancy and I'm worried that I've put our baby at risk.

Has anybody been in the same situation? Is there anything I can do? Do I need a blood test? I have a midwife appointment in a couple of days time so I can mention it to her then and see what she says but I'm really panicking now as it's my first baby and it took us a long time to conceive and I'm worried something will happen to him now :(

It will probably be fine but I understand as I worried about everything in pregnancy. Was he sanding old paint? Not sure how lead dust can come from stripping wallpaper. Was it underneath?

Sorry I should have said in my post, the wallpaper had been put up on top of layers and layers of old paint. The house was built in the 50s and I know lead paint was definitely used on all of the woodwork but we didn't think it would have been in the old wall paint until after one whole wall had been stripped and the old paint was mostly stuck to the wallpaper but there was still a load of dust from where my partner had been scraping etc. I'm hoping that it'll all be ok and that everything is fine but I do keep worrying x

I would assume the very little time exposed means you'll be fine.
But long term expaoure would be worrying. Are you using the same space? Has the area been cleaned and thrououghly ventilated?

Please don't worry. I renovated a house while pregnant, including stripping paint which almost certainly contained lead. I had a similar panic and had a blood test, and it was totally fine. No sign of any issues in my now 19 month old. I just took more care moving forward. Please don't stress!

You can get tested for exposure and it is possible to have treatment.

https://uktis.org/monographs/treatment-of-lead-poisoning-in-pregnancy/

The above may be helpful and I'm sure there is more research out there but I haven't don't a deep dive and am no expert, although I know even small amounts of lead are not good.

Personally I would speak to my GP.

I would also personally not be in the house if you might still be breathing in the dust.

I don't want to make you more panicked, sorry. But I would say better to take it seriously now rather than ignore it and potentially regret it later.

We had all of the windows open and the back door wide open whilst we were doing it as the wallpaper steamer set off the smoke alarm initially before we stopped using it, so the house was definitely well ventilated. We hoovered afterwards using an industrial hoover with HEPA filter and wiped all surfaces with damp cloths to get rid of the dust and I haven't seen that anymore dust has settled since, so I think we cleaned thoroughly enough. My partner has more to do tomorrow but the plan is for me to go out and he will tape off all doors to other rooms and the stairs with plastic sheeting so that the dust is contained in the hallway and he'll wear a respirator mask so at least it won't be spreading throughout the house tomorrow. He'll then make sure everything is thoroughly hoovered and wiped down again before I come back so fingers crossed it'll be ok x

Thank you! Everything that I read online was absolutely terrifying me so I'm glad I've found someone who has been in a similar situation and everything was ok. We will definitely be more careful going forward, I'll go out tomorrow whilst my partner finishes stripping/sanding the walls and he'll tape plastic sheeting up on all the doors and the stairs to contain the dust to the hallway only and will wear a mask. He'll also thoroughly hoover and wipe all surfaces down before I come back so hopefully all will be ok! X

Thank you, I'll have a look at the link. I'll be speaking to my midwife Monday morning when I see her and then will contact my GP if she says I need to for a blood test to check.

We cleaned afterwards using an industrial hoover with a HEPA filter and wiped all surfaces with a damp cloth to remove the dust. We kept the house well ventilated whilst we were out this afternoon/evening and when we came back we couldn't see that anymore dust had settled anywhere so I think we cleaned everything thoroughly so hopefully will be ok. I will go out tomorrow though when my partner finishes the job and he will tape off all the doors with plastic sheeting and will thoroughly hoover and wipe down everything again before I return so hopefully it'll be ok x

Ah I see. That is stressful but I would think it would be over a sustained period of time that damage would be caused x

We were mid way through renovating an old house (including stripping woodwork-though not not by sanding) when I last became pregnant. Obviously from that point on I stayed well away from high risk areas in the house (but ironically was unknowingly showering in a bathroom with arsenic on the walls each day-bloody Victorians!) I actually requested a lead test from the GP as I was anxious about it. Not a super common blood test, but some trades (e.g. our lead flashing restorer chap and his assistant) do these regularly. It came back very low. Renovation had to continue so I took another test privately (via medichecks) several months later which was also very low.

Safety measures we used:

We had an industrial hepa hoover too so it's great news that you do. We also used plastic zip doors tonseal up clean rooms. You can get these on amazon etc. The trades thought we were nuts and it may be overkill for your work 😅

My advice would be to ditch any carpets or curtains that get dusty or walked on though after you are done or stick some carpet protector down- you can never get all the building dust out properly and having a baby crawl on them at a later point would really stress me out. If you have floorboards perhaps lay corex down or tape thick plastic sheeting for future peace of mind too.

Wash husband's work clothes separately (powder non bio detergent is best)

Make your husband wear a decent mask if sanding (which I don't recommend, try wet sanding if you can) And not a great idea to be eating in that space ifnstill dusty, mine used to have to sit outside for lunch whatever the weather.

But we had a LOT of lead paint. I'm sure you will be fine. Last thing, I think I recall orange juice having some beneficial effect if you have ingested lead, perhaps give it another google.

I renovated and did lead paint removal of 4 story Victorian house while pregnant - both DC are fine - v healthy and straight A students! I was v worried like you as also found we drilled into asbestos by accident and arsenic in wallpaper too!

Thank you for your really detailed reply! Shocking isn't it when you realise what they used to use in houses back in the day! It's good to hear that your lead blood levels were low though. We're already doing most of the same safety measures, I think I will get rid of the stairs carpet though once we're done as to be honest it's grotty anyway from the people who lived here before and we can never get it looking nice after countless carpet cleans lol. Thank you x

I'm glad to hear they are both fine, that's really reassuring! I went into such panic mode but definitely feeling a lot calmer now and will just take extra precautions from now on! Oh wow lead, asbestos and arsenic - I don't think I would have coped with the stress lol! Thank you for the reassurance x

Also! I've used a paint stripper called biostrip which is a lot safer than sanding. So maybe check that out.