Thalassemia And Its Symptoms
Thalassemia is not a widespread disease but still it is prevailing among the population of Mediterranean countries, Middle East, Asia and Africa. About 1.5% of the world's population carries thalassemia. Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder in which deficient synthesis of hemoglobin occurs. Hemoglobin is a protein which is an essential component of blood and is responsible for transporting oxygen in all body’s cells. The major question that blinks our mind while studying thalassemia is whether children can be affected by it or not? The answer is yes, children can easily inherit this disease through their parents. The disease in children can be detected by various thalassemia symptoms. Most common thalassemia symptoms in children are as follows:
PALE OR YELLOWISH SKIN
As thalassemia is characterized by deficiency of a protein hemoglobin, this deficiency causes a decrease in the number of red blood cells that ultimately reduces blood flow resulting in pale or yellowish skin.
WEAKNESS
Hemoglobin is the chief transporter of oxygen in blood and oxygen is required by each and every cell of the body for the production of energy. Due to insufficiency of hemoglobin oxygen is not properly distributed to all the cells of the body that causes a person to feel weak and drowsy.
Children with mild thalassemia do not need any frequent treatment, they are provided with certain vitamins that help in making red blood cells. However they need to be careful with their diet. In minor cases usually no treatment is necessarily required but in case of severe thalassemia frequent blood transfusions and therapies might be useful. Stem cell transplant is the only treatment that can completely remove thalassemia but it is expensive and quite risky. Studies reveal that patients with minor cases can live a normal life and those with severe cases may have a chance of heart attack but most of the thalassemic patients can live and reproduce normally.
For more information visit our website:
https://fatimid.org/
PALE OR YELLOWISH SKIN
As thalassemia is characterized by deficiency of a protein hemoglobin, this deficiency causes a decrease in the number of red blood cells that ultimately reduces blood flow resulting in pale or yellowish skin.
WEAKNESS
Hemoglobin is the chief transporter of oxygen in blood and oxygen is required by each and every cell of the body for the production of energy. Due to insufficiency of hemoglobin oxygen is not properly distributed to all the cells of the body that causes a person to feel weak and drowsy.
FATIGUE
In thalassemia there is shortage of healthy red blood cells and also not enough supply of oxygen to body cells that gives rise to a condition called anemia that ultimately causes fatigue in the body.
SHORT STATURE
Stunted height is one of the common symptoms in thalassemic children. The height usually remained normal till the age of 8, after that the height rate stunted. The causes are inadequate blood supply, low level of oxygen causing impoverished nutrition and any sort of difficulties with growth hormone.
JAUNDICE
This symptom does not appear directly after birth but after 6 months or two years children with thalassemia start to develop pale skin. Children with thalassemia suffer from a condition called hyperbilirubinemia. In this condition hemolysis occurs that causes the release of a pigment bilirubin that makes a child’s skin and eyes yellow.
IRRITABILITY AND FUSSINESS
In thalassemic children irritability, fussiness and tiredness are the very initial symptoms of the disease.
DARK URINE
Thalassemic patients have dark yellow or light brown urine because of the breakdown of red blood cells that results in the production of large amounts of bilirubin (a pigment) that causes darkening of urine.
WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM
Children with thalassemia are prone toward infections. They need extra shielding because their body is already engaged in making more red blood cells to meet their deficiency. In such conditions it cannot properly monitor filtration of blood and fight any minor infection. It is considered that some of the infection defense mechanisms of thalassemic children are not active or work properly.
RECURRENT FEVERS AND DIARRHEA
Within 6 to 24 months, infants with thalassemia suffer from diarrhea and recurrent fevers. These are among the most common symptoms of thalassemia.
POOR APPETITE
Newborns with thalassemia traits often have poor appetite along with a lot of other complications including several bone problems.
In thalassemia there is shortage of healthy red blood cells and also not enough supply of oxygen to body cells that gives rise to a condition called anemia that ultimately causes fatigue in the body.
SHORT STATURE
Stunted height is one of the common symptoms in thalassemic children. The height usually remained normal till the age of 8, after that the height rate stunted. The causes are inadequate blood supply, low level of oxygen causing impoverished nutrition and any sort of difficulties with growth hormone.
JAUNDICE
This symptom does not appear directly after birth but after 6 months or two years children with thalassemia start to develop pale skin. Children with thalassemia suffer from a condition called hyperbilirubinemia. In this condition hemolysis occurs that causes the release of a pigment bilirubin that makes a child’s skin and eyes yellow.
IRRITABILITY AND FUSSINESS
In thalassemic children irritability, fussiness and tiredness are the very initial symptoms of the disease.
DARK URINE
Thalassemic patients have dark yellow or light brown urine because of the breakdown of red blood cells that results in the production of large amounts of bilirubin (a pigment) that causes darkening of urine.
WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM
Children with thalassemia are prone toward infections. They need extra shielding because their body is already engaged in making more red blood cells to meet their deficiency. In such conditions it cannot properly monitor filtration of blood and fight any minor infection. It is considered that some of the infection defense mechanisms of thalassemic children are not active or work properly.
RECURRENT FEVERS AND DIARRHEA
Within 6 to 24 months, infants with thalassemia suffer from diarrhea and recurrent fevers. These are among the most common symptoms of thalassemia.
POOR APPETITE
Newborns with thalassemia traits often have poor appetite along with a lot of other complications including several bone problems.
Children with mild thalassemia do not need any frequent treatment, they are provided with certain vitamins that help in making red blood cells. However they need to be careful with their diet. In minor cases usually no treatment is necessarily required but in case of severe thalassemia frequent blood transfusions and therapies might be useful. Stem cell transplant is the only treatment that can completely remove thalassemia but it is expensive and quite risky. Studies reveal that patients with minor cases can live a normal life and those with severe cases may have a chance of heart attack but most of the thalassemic patients can live and reproduce normally.
For more information visit our website:
https://fatimid.org/
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