Even if you ignore the link between ADHD and lead exposure you are still left with frightening side effects such as vomiting, seizures, and lead poisoning which often results in permanent intellectual disabilities and behavioural disorders.
Many children eat paint chips
Often paints on the shelf at your regular hardware store are full of chemicals and additives even if they do not contain lead.
Although adults would not eat paint chips unless they have pica many children do.
Small children put everything in their mouths, and grade school children egg each other on to things they would never do by themselves.
I remember a game of ‘‘I Dare You’’ with the neighborhood kids when I was seven and my brother five. My brother put almost anything in his mouth if someone dared him to eat! Thankfully there weren’t any paint chips or other harmful substances in our vicinity.
Adults and children living in old houses can inhale dust largely composed of broken-down paint chips.
Some researchers speculate that consuming small amounts of paint dust over long periods could cause cancer, lead poisoning, or ADHD.
Where is Lead Paint Banned?
Lead paint has been banned In Sweden since the 1920s and in The United States since the end of the ’70s I checked the stats on these countries because I am a citizen of both.
Here is a list of countries that have banned lead paint. You can click below, but many countries do not enforce their ban.
Unfortunately, not all countries prioritise enforcing their laws, and many countries still have lead paint on the shelves at the local hardware stores.
When a child in South Africa with Pica (an eating disorder where clay, soil, and paint chips are consumed) was found to be severely affected by lead, this sparked an investigation.
It was found that approximately 50% of families in South Africa had lead paint on the walls. Families are still unknowingly buying lead paint even though lead in paint has been banned in South Africa for years.
(Source) https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829190-200-the-wests-toxic-hypocrisy-over-lead-paint/
Take Action
Test old homes and antiques for lead. You can often buy a lead testing kit at your local hardware store.
If you have lead paint inside your home you should call in an expert to remove the old paint before you redecorate. If you find lead paint outside you should be careful if your child is playing in the soil around the house. If your house doesn’t have chipping paint outside you can wait (it’s your choice even though it is a safety question)to repaint your home, but keep your kids from playing close to the house and don’t plant vegetables or anything else to eat close to walls with Lead paint.
If you want to skip the medical jargon and read a summary of ‘The Link between ADHD and lead paint’ or a summary of ‘The Hidden Sources of Lead’ you can read my post ‘The Kiss of death!’
https://theadhdminimalist.com/the-kiss-of-death-lead-lipstick-can-cause-adhd-in-children/
Use Egg paint it wears well
Besides the fact that it took a little bit longer because I decided to paint an extra layer of paint on the ceiling, I enjoyed using this type of paint.
A friend thought I needed to paint an extra coat because I skimped on the base coat and only primed once. It’s recommended to paint two coats of base paint.
I didn’t have to worry about bad paint smells or opening the windows in the middle of winter. My kids can lick the walls if they want!
Painting worked well in winter. I live in Sweden. We don’t have as many nice sunny days as in other parts of the world, and when it’s nice out we want to be outside!
Painting the ceiling in the middle of the summer was not an option for me, so products that allow us in the north to redecorate in winter are worth their weight in gold.
One difference between the paint we have these days and the paints that they used hundreds of years ago is that paints based on eggs or oil were sucked into the wood instead of just making a crusty layer on top of the wood.
Many old homes in Sweden still have beautiful paintings on the walls because they were painted with these high-quality paints.
Helpful links
To read Q and A about egg paint / Egg Tempra click here https://theadhdminimalist.com/the-most-common-questions-about-toxin-free-egg-paint-q-and-a/
I included all the questions I had when I first started making egg paint in the post ‘The most common questions about toxin-free egg paint Q and A’
To buy your own paint supplies the link below will take you to Av Jord. http://www.avjord.se/?affiliate=11185
Copyright Annie Eklöv