Protecting Children from Toxic Exposure: Three Strategies

To a toxicologist, “poisonings” are cases in which the child has a defined pattern of symptoms, corresponding to toxic effects at a mid to high level of exposure. “Toxicity” refers to a broader spectrum of effects. At lower levels of toxicity a child may have no specific, individual symptoms but may be affected subclinically. There are three basic strategies to protect children: individual intervention, the preventive medicine strategy, and the public health strategy. This article uses lead exposure as a model for discussing these differences in terminology and the three different protective strategies.