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Background Folk prescriptions continue to be important sources of childhood lead poisoning. Nasal spray folk prescriptions for treating rhinitis has only been reported once previously as a cause of lead poisoning. Case presentation We identified three pediatric cases of severe lead poisoning caused by nasal spray folk medicines prescribed for treating rhinitis. The three patients had similar clinical manifestations including: severe abdominal pain, headache, pale appearance and fatigue. Liver function tests were abnormal. Blood lead levels (BLLs) of the three patients were 91 μg/dL, 91 μg/dL, and 105 μg/dL, respectively. After chelation BLLs decreased. The lead content of the three folk remedies as measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were 14.8, 22.3, and 33.4%. All the symptoms resolved during a course of chelation therapy. There were no severe side effects of treatment. Conclusions Nasal spray folk prescriptions for treating rhinitis may contain extremely high bio-accessible lead content and are potential sources of lead poisoning. Clinicians should be alert to this possibility especially in those children presenting with multisystem symptoms.

This study explored the sources of lead exposure, identified patients' geographic distribution and evaluated the symptoms of children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) referred to a pediatric lead specialty clinic in China.Data were collected from 515 consecutive outpatients attending the Pediatric Lead Poisoning Clinic in Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai, China, between 2011 and 2016, referred for BLLs ≥5 μg/dL. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to measure venous BLLs.The mean ± standard deviation age of the patients was 4.1 ± 3.2 years. Their BLLs ranged from 5 to 126 μg/dL. The geometric mean and median BLLs were 24 and 26 μg/dL, respectively. Two hundred and twenty-two children (43.1%) were exposed to industrial lead pollution-mainly from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Henan and Anhui provinces; whereas, 41.4% (213 cases) were induced by folk medicines used widely throughout China. Other nonindustrial sources of lead exposure included lead-containing tinfoil and tin pots. Household lead paint was a rare source. Most patients exhibited nonspecific symptoms, such as hyperactivity, attention difficulty, aggressiveness, constipation and anorexia.Industrial pollution and folk medicines are important sources of lead exposure in China. Childhood lead poisoning may be difficult to diagnose clinically as symptoms are nonspecific. Thus, blood lead screening may be necessary to identify children at high risk of exposure. Education to raise the awareness of potential sources of exposure resulting in their elimination would be expected to decrease the incidence of children with elevated BLLs.

Background A case of lead poisoning resulting from the ingestion of a folk remedy for treating epilepsy is reported. Results The initial blood lead concentration of this 6-y-old boy was 63.6 μg/dl upon admission. He presented with abdominal pain, constipation, and irritability. The patient's liver function tests were significantly increased. Through chelation therapy, the blood lead concentration dropped markedly and clinical symptoms greatly improved. His blood and urine samples were collected for the kinetic analysis of lead elimination. Conclusions Folk prescriptions for epilepsy should be considered as potential sources of lead intoxication. Lead poisoning should be taken into consideration for unknown causes of abdominal pain.