Down Syndrome Symptoms

Identify The Down Syndrome Symptoms and Its Effect to The Health Problem

Down syndrome symptoms are difference for each person and they can range from mild to severe. Down syndrome is a genetic disorder which affects especially children. It is a congenital condition caused by an extra chromosome. This happens in the early stages of pregnancy. Having this extra chromosome usually slows the development of the brain and body. As stated above that down syndrome symptoms may vary from person to person and not all patients would have the same features, but symptoms which are known to be common among most, such as a flat face, a short neck and usually have some degree of intellectual disability. Here we will discuss about down syndrome symptoms of children and the health problem might a children have with down syndrome.
The down syndrome symptom in the children can be widely recognized. The physical symptoms are the head may be smaller than normal and abnormally shaped and it may be around with a flat area on the back. The inner corner of the eyes may be rounded instead of pointed. Children with down syndrom symptoms usually have flattened nose, small mouth, small ears, excessive skin at the nape of the neck, white spots on the colored part of the eye, also wide and short hands with short fingers. While mentally symptoms is mentaly retardation. Another symptoms are in heart disease,one of their health problem. Such as difficulty breathing, cough, chest pain, and usually leg swelling.
We should be sensitive and careful when we find down syndrom symptoms of our children. Because down syndrom can give effect one or more of the following health conditions: heart defects. Almost half of babies with Down syndrome have heart defects. Some defects are minor and may be treated with medications, while others require surgery. Next is vision problems. More than 60 percent of children with Down syndrome have vision problems, including crossed eyes (esotropia), near- or far-sightedness and cataracts. Then, hearing loss. Hearing loss may be due to fluid in the middle ear (which may be temporary) and/or defects involving the middle or inner ear. Next is infections. Children with Down syndrome tend to have many colds and ear infections, as well as bronchitis and pneumonia. And memory loss. Adults with Down syndrome tend to develop Alzheimer’s disease at an earlier age than unaffected individuals. However, children with Down syndrome usually can do most things that any young child can do, such as walking, talking, dressing and being toilet-trained. However, they generally start learning these things later than unaffected children.
To care for and deal with a case of Down Syndrome symptoms in children, you will need all the help and skill you can get from trained professionals. You will need to follow their advise and remember that this is not something that you can manage alone. Counselors and support groups are not only and important but an essential part of rehabilitation and treatment. Speech therapy and occupational are in fact available, without any charge for patients of Down Syndrome symptoms in some countries. Some studies suggest that women who have certain versions of some genes that affect how their bodies metabolize (process) the B vitamin folic acid may be at increased risk for having a baby with Down syndrome .So, as a good parents, we have to able to identify earlier about down syndrom symptoms that maybe hapen to our children. We can read a lot about its information in the internet or consult to the doctors.

Congenital Heart Disease

Factors Contributing to Congenital Heart Disease

A congenital heart defect (CHD) is a defect in the structure of the heart and great vessels which is present at birth. Many types of heart defects exist, most of which either obstruct blood flow in the heart or vessels near it, or cause blood to flow through the heart in an abnormal pattern. Approximately 9 people in 1000 are born with a congenital heart defect. In China Daily reports, congenital heart disease becomes one of five main causes of child mortality, including premature birth and accidental asphyxia. Many defects don’t need treatment, but some complex congenital heart defects require medication or surgery. The congenital heart disease is mainly because of genetic and environment factors, where a combination of genes from both parents, in addition to unknown environmental factors, produce the trait or condition. The factors will be discussed further as following.

It is important to underline that the specific causes of congenital heart disease are not known. However, some types of congenital heart defects are known to occur more often when the mother behaviors like coming in contact with certain substances during the first few weeks of pregnancy, while at that moment, the baby’s heart is in developing phase. Some maternal illnesses and medications taken for these illnesses have been shown to affect the heart’s development. Secondly, a woman who has never had rubella nor been vaccinated against the disease should consult her physician before becoming pregnant. A mother who contracts rubella during her pregnancy has a very significant chance of having a baby with congenital heart disease.

The other factor is the family history, whether the cause is the parents, chromosome or single gene. Even though only 1 percent of the babies that are born with congenital heart disease, however, when the parents or the siblings are with congenital heart disease, it is potentially high risk too that the babies are born with this defect. While in chromosome, problems in chromosome are highly causing the babies malformations or other defects. There are some chromosome abnormalities related to the congenital heart disease, including Down syndrome. Besides the chromosome factor, genes contribute some defect on the babies. Simply, when a gene is mutated, a number of health problems may occur in a person, due to the single underlying genetic mutation. Several health problems with one genetic cause are often referred to as a syndrome, including congenital heart disease. When a child is born with a congenital heart defect, if there is a suspicion that the child has some type of genetic syndrome, a physician who specializes in genetics (called a clinical geneticist) may be asked to evaluate your child.