Lead Level in Blood

View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 12:30 pm

Well, I went to the doctor and found that I have 21 in my blood and normal is 10 or less. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003360.htm and so my thought is while I am well below 40, I don't want it to increase.

I have only shot indoors and would like to further minimize my risk to lead exposure/absorption, so what do you guys do?
What can I do to reduce the lead level I have in my blood, to prevent it from increasing, and to minimize exposure?

Currently.....

I wash my face in the bathroom at the range after I'm doing firing my rounds for the day.
I don't eat after going to the range unless I've showered first.
I change out of my clothes right away when I get home and then I immediately hit the shower, shampooing my mustache and beard.
I usually spend 2 hours on the range and have done so for the past month or so. Before that, I hadn't shot in 25 years.

What am I doing wrong and/or what could I do? What could I do better?

I'd LOVE to be able to shoot outdoors ALL of the time, but I live in the south metro, not on my own land with tons of acreage.

HELP!!

View · by **wildfan1** on Sat May 12, 2012 12:41 pm

I am far from an expert, but some things stand out to me and some questions:

How often are you shooting? Daily, 3x a week, weekly, or less?

Do you know what your levels were before you began regular shooting?

Do you have an older home where you could be exposed to lead pipes or lead based paint?

I'm no doc, but i'd be skeptical that even daily shooting could cause lead poisoning, unless you were eating bullets, especially with the precautions you are taking.

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View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 1:13 pm

wildfan1 wrote:I am far from an expert, but some things stand out to me and some questions:

How often are you shooting? Daily, 3x a week, weekly, or less?

Do you know what your levels were before you began regular shooting?

Do you have an older home where you could be exposed to lead pipes or lead based paint?

I'm no doc, but i'd be skeptical that even daily shooting could cause lead poisoning, unless you were eating bullets, especially with the precautions you are taking.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

Thank you for the response -- and for the good questions, here are my answers.

How often are you shooting? Daily, 3x a week, weekly, or less?
For the past month or so, every Saturday, 2 hours each time. Before the past 1 - 1.5 months, 25 years ago.

Do you know what your levels were before you began regular shooting?
No.

Do you have an older home where you could be exposed to lead pipes or lead based paint?
Brand new house built in 2010, so no lead there. Even my pipes are PVC.

I'm no doc, but i'd be skeptical that even daily shooting could cause lead poisoning, unless you were eating bullets, especially with the precautions you are taking.
Cool.

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View · by **BemidjiDweller** on Sat May 12, 2012 1:33 pm

Try taking some vitamin C tablets, I hear (more like read on the net) that it helps lower your lead levels over time. Other than that, shooting outdoors would help, but you already said thats not much of an option.

View · by **45Badger** on Sat May 12, 2012 3:32 pm

After a few years of reloading and shooting 5-10K rounds per year, I got checked. Had super low (I forget) lead numbers. I was shooting indoors and outdoors with minimal protection/concern (don't lick fingers and pick nose during shooting/reloading). For the most part, I have stayed away from shooting/reloading lead bullets, using mostly plated or FMJ. You should check for another exposure risk.

View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 3:57 pm

45Badger wrote:After a few years of reloading and shooting 5-10K rounds per year, I got checked. Had super low (I forget) lead numbers. I was shooting indoors and outdoors with minimal protection/concern (don't lick fingers and pick nose during shooting/reloading). For the most part, I have stayed away from shooting/reloading lead bullets, using mostly plated or FMJ. You should check for another exposure risk.

hmmmmm good call. I have only really shot FMC / FMJ out of the .45ACP, and I don't think there's a ton of lead in the 22LR stuff either. A previous poster mentioned Vitamin C, which I'll take, but yeah, it may be something else.

View · by **Snowgun** on Sat May 12, 2012 4:35 pm

You could try lead wipes, and maybe shoot on a day where there are fewer people in the range. Otherwise it sounds like you are doing it right.

Do you wear gloves while cleaning/reloading?

View · by **Sigfan220** on Sat May 12, 2012 4:46 pm

That does seem high. I use to shoot indoors 1-2 nights per week and reload. At the time I shot a lot of lead bullets and sorted about 1000-1500lbs of brass per year by hand. Mine was 13mg/dl. I have been taking extra vitamin C for a two years now and want to say I got it down to 8 or 9. I also don't shoot indoors(well maybe a few times per year) and stopped reloading lead, so it's hard to say what worked. I still do not wear gloves during any reloading or cleaning, just the vitamin C and changes in shooting.

View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 4:58 pm

Snowgun wrote:You could try lead wipes, and maybe shoot on a day where there are fewer people in the range. Otherwise it sounds like you are doing it right.

Do you wear gloves while cleaning/reloading?

Well, I could try both. I have more time on the weekends and don't use gloves, but I could when I clean.

View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 4:59 pm

Sigfan220 wrote:That does seem high. I use to shoot indoors 1-2 nights per week and reload. At the time I shot a lot of lead bullets and sorted about 1000-1500lbs of brass per year by hand. Mine was 13mg/dl. I have been taking extra vitamin C for a two years now and want to say I got it down to 8 or 9. I also don't shoot indoors(well maybe a few times per year) and stopped reloading lead, so it's hard to say what worked. I still do not wear gloves during any reloading or cleaning, just the vitamin C and changes in shooting.

Good to know. I'm going to hit the Vitamin C deal and do that.

View · by **BemidjiDweller** on Sat May 12, 2012 5:06 pm

The vitamin c I take are the 1000mg tabs you can get at walgreens for like 15 bucks. Taste like oranges, but don't chew them, most bitter thing you've ever tasted.

View · by **DitchDR** on Sat May 12, 2012 5:48 pm

XDM45, if your are in the south metro, how far do you have to drive to an indoor range. Henderson has a members only outdoor range. Its usually pretty quite there. No waiting list for memberships. PM me if you want to know more.

View · by **xd ED** on Sat May 12, 2012 7:06 pm

Along with your other personal hygiene practices, and the Vitamin C, blow your nose frequently when shooting.
And do not overlook the obvious, what other possibilities for environmental exposure might exist?.... old house with lead based paint? occupational exposure?

View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 8:14 pm

DitchDR wrote:XDM45, if your are in the south metro, how far do you have to drive to an indoor range. Henderson has a members only outdoor range. Its usually pretty quite there. No waiting list for memberships. PM me if you want to know more.

I go to BPR usually.

View · by **XDM45** on Sat May 12, 2012 8:17 pm

xd ED wrote:Along with your other personal hygiene practices, and the Vitamin C, blow your nose frequently when shooting.
And do not overlook the obvious, what other possibilities for environmental exposure might exist?.... old house with lead based paint? occupational exposure?

House was built in 2010, we're the first and only owners, no lead pipes, PVC in the house, good call on the nose blowing.. I'll do that and take the advice.