posted
I just read on BetterHealthGuy(.com) that most of the toxins we absorb are from the water we bath in, so its recommended that we filter all of our water.
I would def not bathe in water I knew was contaminated
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Lauralyme
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Filters for the shower are inexpensive at $60. They filter chlorine but I'm not sure they would filter lead
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NanaDubo
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posted
If a person absorbs parabens from poor quality skin care products and aluminum from deodorant - the skin being the largest organ, makes sense that lead and other toxins would be absorbed while bathing/showering.
Most towns/cities also add flouride to the water (which you don't want either).
My PCP told me she had an entire family who was lead toxic from walking around barefoot on their farm - lead in the soil, soooo.... if you know you have lead in your water, I would start looking for a filter.
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Razzle
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posted
There are whole-house filters that may take Lead out of the water (and also they take out chlorine). One good one is Multi-Pure, but there are others as well.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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James1979
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posted
Thanks to everyone for your responses!
Scorpio - I heard the same thing about lead not being absorbed through the skin. But I just wanted to get it confirmed.
Fuel - yeah, I'm on a well. I send my water samples to a great lab down south. They're super cheap. I think it's like $35 for a general water analysis, and then an extra $25 for testing the lead. PM me if you want the lab's info.
Whitney - I also have heard that tons of stuff gets absorbed through the skin, and that's why I was worried. I wonder though if lead is too big of a molecule to get absorbed like that... I don't know. It seems that most sources say that lead can't enter through the skin - but you never know who to trust these days.
Lauralyme - the shower filters don't filter out the lead, unfortunately.
NanaDubo - that's an interesting story about getting lead from walking barefoot on contaminated ground. I guess that would go to support the view that lead does get absorbed through the skin.
Razzle - I agree that Multi-Pure is a good one, but still it's too slow and inefficient for shower/bath use, IMO.
@Everyone re: filters: In general, lead filters are very slow and very inefficient. Most of them slow down the flow rate to .25 GPM, which is way too slow for most applications. Some of the more expensive filters might be able to reach .50 or even .75 GPM, but that's still very slow. I've already looked into them. Also, the slower the water flow - the better it filters out the lead.
For a comparison - most shower faucets have a flow-rate of 2 to 2.5 GPM. With a flow-rate of .25 GPM, it might take over 2.5 hours to fill up the bath tub!!
Not only are they slow, but they have very short life spans. Most of them can only filter 2,000-5,000 gallons of water. Compare that to other common whole-house filters (which don't remove lead) which can filter around 35,000 gallons. When I used to use a 35,000 gallon life-span filter, I was having to change it every month because my water is so hard.
And besides that they're slow and they have short life-spans, they're also very expensive. So with all of these points together, I just think it's out of the question to try to filter out the lead. I guess I'll just have to live with it.
OR I could just never take a shower for the rest of my life! That should keep the girls away from me. j/k
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glm1111
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posted
Uh James...Unless you're looking to eventually star in "The Wizard Of Oz" as the lead man, I would move. like yesterday, to a safer water supply.
If you say that's not an option, then maybe you should order some bottled water from now on and heat it on the stove.
It just doesn't sound like a good idea to constantly be exposed to lead that can be absorbed through the skin.
Studies have shown it's dangerous to be exposed to lead paint. Just concerned about you in the long run kiddo.
Gael
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James1979
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posted
Gael - thanks a lot for the warning! Yeah, moving is definitely not an option (and it's not about the money). Even if I had a million dollars I still wouldn't move.
But since you guys are convincing me that this might be a serious problem, I'm definitely gonna research it some more. I want to find a clear answer as to whether or not lead is absorbed through the skin in the shower. Of course the government says it's not, but the only thing I've learned in my life is to never trust the government. Well, I've also learned not to trust the girls, but that's a different story.
I was accidentally drinking lead water for a long time. I assumed that that is why my levels are so high in the DMSA provoked challenge... but maybe some of it has to do with the shower water also?
In the worst-case scenario, I could just install a lead filter and take a shower underneath a .25 GPM water flow. But I would only do that if I learn that it's absolutely necessary.
Alice - I'll e-mail you the info about the lab. I just don't feel comfortable putting their info here. I love this lab because they're super cheap, but also they're super friendly. AND they have funny southern accents! I always laugh whenever they're talking to me, because of their accents.
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Razzle
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posted
James,
Multi-Pure has a whole-house unit that doesn't appreciably slow down water flow. I also don't know if their whole-house unit filters out lead - might contact them and ask for sure.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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James1979
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posted
Razzle - their website says that they're modifying their whole-house unit, and that the new unit won't be available until next Spring. So currently they don't have any available for sale.
Well... if I don't find something else beforehand, then I guess that'll be something to look forward to! Thanks for mentioning it.
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scorpiogirl
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See this is where I am confused. Everything I have read said your skin does not absorb lead. However, if you touch lead w/ your hands and then go eat something then you can consume lead that way.
But as far as lead in water... I'm not finding any research that suggest that. If you think about it has to be in all pipes that carry our water! How on earth can you avoid it!
-------------------- Posts: 1391 | From Lyme Land | Registered: May 2011
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James1979
Unregistered
posted
Here are some studies which may show that certain forms of lead can be absorbed through the skin in certain situations:
quote:Abstract: Lead, as a solution of lead acetate or nitrate, was applied to the skin of mice. In less than 24 h, there were large increases in lead in the skin, muscle, pancreas, spleen, kidney, liver, caecum, bone, heart and brain, but not in the blood. For intravenously (iv) injected lead, there were increases in blood lead and in all organs except muscle. Skin-absorbed lead concentrated more strongly than iv injected lead in the skin and muscle, but less strongly in the blood, spleen, kidney, liver and bone, while the affinities of the pancreas, caecum, mid-gut, heart and brain for the two sources of lead were similar. Previous research has found that inorganic lead can also be absorbed through the skin of humans. The results show the importance of taking into account the possibility of skin absorption of lead in occupational exposure, in particular since blood lead, the prime index of lead status used in occupational health surveys, is not an indicator of skin absorption.
James' notes: lead acetate and lead nitrate are not found in water. BUT inorganic lead IS found in water, and there's a line that I bold-faced above that mentions "previous research" has shown that inorganic lead can be absorbed through the skin.
quote:Abstract It is usually assumed that lead can be absorbed through the skin only if it is present as an organolead compound such as tetraethyllead or lead naphthanate. It has been found, however, that finely-powdered lead metal or lead nitrate solution placed on the skin results in rapid absorption of lead, and transport of the metal around the body. The absorbed lead appears in sweat and saliva, but not in blood or urine. The application of 6 mg of lead as 0.5 M lead nitrate to the left arm resulted in an increase in lead concentration in pilocarpine-induced iontophoresis sweat samples taken from the right arm, from an initial value of 15�25 μg Pbl−1 to 300 μg Pbl−1 after 2 days. Saliva lead increased from 2.5 to 15 μg Pbl−1 in the same period. The rate of lead absorption through the skin increases with increased sweating of the skin. Since no measurable increase in blood lead has been found, the lead must be transported in the plasma and rapidly concentrated into the extracellular fluid pool (sweat and saliva), without significant uptake by the erythrocytes, and with a very low transient concentration in the plasma. Workers occupationally exposed to lead have extremely high levels of lead in sweat even though their lead in blood is only moderately elevated. Lead absorbed through the skin may be eliminated via sweat and other extracellular fluids, and hence not be as great a health hazard as ingested lead, but this will need to be proved by further studies.
James' notes:Lead nitrate is not usually found in water (and it's DEFINITELY not found in my water), so that's not the issue. But "finely powdered lead metal" might be found in water... I don't know.
Ugh. I don't know what to believe. I just sent an email to Doctor's Data lab, asking if they have an answer. I figured that they probably are experts with heavy metals.
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scorpiogirl
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Ok thanks James for clarifying that. Shoot I'm going to have to get my water tested now.
Next question, what about the lead found at Disneyland? So when the kids touch the door nob or the sword, etc... are they absorbing through the skin or only when then eat w/out washing hands?
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SForsgren
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James1979
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posted
Scott - Thanks! I'm checking it out now. (Aaaargh! They have porno on their front page!! I have to turn off my images now. ).
Scorpio - I forgot to reply to something you said above: Yes, many pipes have lead in them, but not everybody has high levels of lead in their water. Even if your pipes have lead, you might only be getting 1 or 2 ppb of lead in your water, which (IMO) is negligable. As a comparison, I have 50-60 ppb in my water, which is way over the EPA's "action level" of 15 ppb.
And since you have kids, I would also check for the fluoride content. The fluoride will lower your kids' IQ, plus cause all kinds of other damage. Not to mention that it's bad for their teeth...
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James1979
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posted
Here is the email response I got from the DD lab:
"I have checked with my laboratory, and there really is a very low chance for lead absorption through the skin from water."
That was very kind of them for responding to me. Of course I don't know how reliable their word is, but it might add a little weight to one side of the argument.
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quote:Originally posted by scorpiogirl: But as far as lead in water... I'm not finding any research that suggest that. If you think about it has to be in all pipes that carry our water! How on earth can you avoid it!
Are you sure about this? I didnt think they use lead pipes anymore. Maybe in a really old house.
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Abxnomore
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posted
In really old houses if the piping has not be upgraded you may find lead pipes. However, the lead is in the water from environmental pollution.
If you are not filtering your water with a good water filtration system, and you will be getting way more than just lead, your skin will be absorbing it.
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James1979
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posted
You guys aren't gonna believe what just happened to me.
Some plumbing in my house broke this week (what a coincidence, huh?). So I had to do some research to learn how to replace the broken parts. Then I realized that I have a long run of galvanized piping. So then I was wondering if I should replace the old piping with new galvanized, or if I should convert it to copper.
I researched on the internet the difference between galvanized and copper piping, and get this: galvanized pipes are one of the biggest contributors to lead in the water supply! So obviously I'm going to convert the system to copper now. These are big pipes, and all of the water in my house runs through these pipes. Also they're very old and visibly corroded.
There's a possibility that this MIGHT fix my lead problem. I find it VERY coincidental with the timing of this thread.
This might be difficult for me to do on my own, but hopefully everything turns out alright. I'll be so happy once it's complete! Then I can send some more water to get it analyzed for lead. That would be super cool if it fixes my problem!
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Catgirl
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James, maybe you could just have a water company come in and make some suggestions to you. That's what we did. They come up with a plan so that everything works. You may also need a water softener too.
We had our water tested and found out we have a lot of manganese in it (over a long period, can cause parkinsons). So we got a whole house system.
In treating the manganese though, the system takes out good minerals, so they added them back in at the same time.
Maybe at the very least call the pros for some advice. It doesn't mean you have to buy their system.
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