These symptoms may include tiredness, a short attention span, restlessness, poor appetite, constipation, headache, or sudden behavior change. More severe symptoms include vomiting, changes in consciousness, and sight and hearing loss. Lead dust and lead-based paint are the major sources of lead poisoning. If paint weathers, flakes, or becomes chalky, or is heated or sanded during renovation, it may produce toxic dust or fumes which could be inhaled. This dust could stick to children's toys, get on their hands, and then be eaten.
Children eat lead paint chips because they taste sweet.
Adults who work in lead-related industries or crafts can be poisoned at work and can accidentally bring lead dust home on their clothing. The entire family could become poisoned by inhaling lead dust. Lead gets into drinking water from lead pipes and solder. Lead can also be found in the paint on some toys, lead-glazed imported dinnerware, crystal, contaminated soil and the food grown in it, bullets, batteries, cosmetics, canned food, and printing inks. Some folk remedies also contain lead.