‘She was vomiting for what ended up being 10 days straight, even with medication in the hospital’
Myah, from Hull, who became seriously unwell with lead poisoning (Image: Sammy Hoodlass)
A little girl from Hull suffered seizures and needed a blood transfusion after she was inadvertently exposed to a rare form of poisoning. Myah Edwards, then aged two, was behaving like many toddlers when she developed a habit of biting things, particularly the windowsill.
Sammy Hoodlass, Myah’s mum, said her daughter had no signs of being poorly, then suddenly became violently ill in July last year. She was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary, with doctors initially baffled by her symptoms.
After undergoing many tests, Myah was diagnosed with lead poisoning. Sammy said the experience has been “horrendous” and she wants to raise awareness of lead poisoning so that other parents are aware of the hidden dangers in homes.
The mum said she had tried to get help for Myah three times before she was finally admitted to hospital, but the doctors she saw thought she had a simple case of gastroenteritis. One day, Myah staggered out of her pram like she was “drunk” and then collapsed, Sammy said.
Sammy said: “She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink. She was just being really lethargic and she was being sick. She was vomiting for what ended up being ten days straight, even with medication in the hospital.”
The mum added: “It took them five days to find out what she had. They thought it might be meningitis in the brain because lead poisoning is that rare they’ve never had a case of it for 30 years at Hull Royal, the doctor said.”
Sammy said Myah has pica, a feeding disorder in which someone eats non-food items, but added this behaviour can also be “just typical of children”. Mouthing and biting things is particularly common in toddlers and babies aged under two.
“She was biting this windowsill for seven months or eight months,” said Sammy. “That’s how long she was having lead poisoning building up, and nobody knew about it.”
One of the biggest dangers of lead paint is that it tastes sweet which is appealing to children. “That’s why they like it and keep going back,” Sammy said.
Lead paint was banned in the UK in 1992, but is still present in many homes built before then. Sammy has since discovered that the plaster in her home, which she rents as a private tenant, also contains lead.
Now aged three years old, Myah needs regular blood tests to monitor her lead levels. She is having chelation therapy, which helps flush out the lead from her body.
But because lead is stored in bone, Sammy said it could remain in Myah’s body for 30 years. She said: “Myah went through a lot. Her lead levels are still not right and it’s been nearly a year.
“When you get lead poisoning, the damage is irreversible. You can get treatment to get rid of it, but it can affect you with learning disabilities. Whatever damage the lead does is irreversible.”
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