Health Promotion and Maintenance
59. When teaching a class on home safety to new parents, on which type of exposure should a nurse focus as the primary cause of lead poisoning in children?
Health Promotion and Maintenance
59. When teaching a class on home safety to new parents, on which type of exposure should a nurse focus as the primary cause of lead poisoning in children?
. Ingesting paint dust or chips from an old home.
. Having a parent who works near lead products.
. Riding in a car that uses leaded gasoline.
. Chewing on pencils with lead tips.
Test-Taking Tip
To determine the most likely source of exposure, consider that an ingested poison is absorbed most easily. Two answers describe ingestion, but one answer can be generalized to a greater population of children (many children live in old homes, while only some would chew on pencils). Even if lead is possibly contained in pencils, not enough children would be exposed to make that the primary route of exposure.
Content Area: Child Health, Poisoning; Integrated Process: Nursing Process, Analysis; Cognitive Level: Analysis; Client Need/Subneed: Safe and Effective Care Environment/Safety and Infection Control/Home Safety
Health Promotion and Maintenance
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Answer 1 is correct because the primary means of lead exposure in children results from ingestion. The presence of lead-based paint should be suspected in homes built prior to the late 1970s when these paints were discontinued. Children can ingest paint chips or dust by chewing on contaminated surfaces such as windowsills, and they can become exposed by playing in contaminated soil. Answer 2 is incorrect because this is a means of exposure, but not the most common means. Answer 3 is incorrect because leaded gasoline is not permitted for on-road vehicles. Answer 4 is incorrect since pencil lead does not contain lead, but graphite, and is not a source of lead poisoning in children.