Schwing
Member
I started a thread a while back about my high lead issues. It is here:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=727173&highlight=have+high+lead
The purpose of this thread is to share my overwhelmingly underwhelming experience with the saliva lead test by Schneider Laboratories. This is the test they claim to be 99.99% as accurate as a blood test. I purchased the test because it was only $35 and claimed to include everything needed to do the sample, including shipping it pre-paid back to the lab.
A couple of months back I had a blood test that was 32. Up to this point, I had taken no precautions at all when working with lead. My doctor told me to stay away from it and come back in a few months for a retest. After a few weeks, I couldn’t stand it anymore so I bought a face mask with a lead filter and some nitrile gloves for when I wasn't wearing welding gloves. I spent my Friday casting and melting down WWs. On Monday, I took the saliva test to see if my activities had changed anything and sent it into Schneider. It did not include pre-paid shipping as advertised. Two weeks and several phone calls later (they guarantee the results will come back in 5 days incidentally,) I got my results back and nearly had a heart attack when it said my lead level was 83!
I went back into my doctor, had another blood test and spent the next week waiting for the results in anxiety over what I might have done to screw myself over so badly. The test came back and I was 21…
Bottom line: don’t waste your time on this test. Even better, take basic precautions when working with lead so you don’t have to worry about it in the first place
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=727173&highlight=have+high+lead
The purpose of this thread is to share my overwhelmingly underwhelming experience with the saliva lead test by Schneider Laboratories. This is the test they claim to be 99.99% as accurate as a blood test. I purchased the test because it was only $35 and claimed to include everything needed to do the sample, including shipping it pre-paid back to the lab.
A couple of months back I had a blood test that was 32. Up to this point, I had taken no precautions at all when working with lead. My doctor told me to stay away from it and come back in a few months for a retest. After a few weeks, I couldn’t stand it anymore so I bought a face mask with a lead filter and some nitrile gloves for when I wasn't wearing welding gloves. I spent my Friday casting and melting down WWs. On Monday, I took the saliva test to see if my activities had changed anything and sent it into Schneider. It did not include pre-paid shipping as advertised. Two weeks and several phone calls later (they guarantee the results will come back in 5 days incidentally,) I got my results back and nearly had a heart attack when it said my lead level was 83!
I went back into my doctor, had another blood test and spent the next week waiting for the results in anxiety over what I might have done to screw myself over so badly. The test came back and I was 21…
Bottom line: don’t waste your time on this test. Even better, take basic precautions when working with lead so you don’t have to worry about it in the first place
