21/03/2024
DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS
What is Downs syndrome?
- Down syndrome is the most common form of intellectual disability in the world.
- It occurs in approximately 1 out of every 1000 babies born alive, and it is caused by a genetic abnormality that affects something called a chromosome.
- People without genetic abnormalities have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
- People with Down syndrome are born with three, rather than two, copies of chromosome 21.
DOWN SYNDROME COMPLICATIONS
Down syndrome can cause a number of medical complications. To make sure that complications are appropriately managed as they emerge, have your child screened at regular intervals.
🌺Potentially serious complications — The most serious complications of Down syndrome include heart defects, blood disorders that can include leukemia (cancer of the blood), and immune system problems.
🌸Heart defects — Approximately half of all babies with Down syndrome are born with (often repairable) heart defects.
🌸Blood disorders — Down syndrome can cause blood cell abnormalities, including a form of blood cancer called leukemia.
🌸Immune system problems — The immune system of people with Down syndrome may not work as it should.
🌸Stomach and digestive system — Approximately 5 percent of babies with Down syndrome have abnormally formed digestive organs, which can block the gastrointestinal tract and may require surgery. They are also more prone to celiac disease, a condition that impairs their ability to absorb nutrients and that makes them unable to tolerat called gluten.
🌸Hormonal disorders — Down syndrome can affect the way the body produces or responds to hormones. For example, people with Down syndrome often do not make sufficient thyroid hormone, which can contribute to problems with weight. They are also at risk for type 1 diabetes, which requires treatment with insulin injections.
🌸Skeletal problems — People with Down syndrome often have too much flexibility between the bones at the top of the spine that support the head (called atlantoaxial instability).
🌺Other complications — Less serious complications include those affecting vision and hearing and those that lead to other non-life-threatening conditions.
🌸Intellectual disability — Almost all babies born with Down syndrome are intellectually disabled, but the degree of impairment can vary a lot. Despite the disability, most children with Down syndrome can learn basic tasks; they just take a little longer than other babies to do so.
🌸Height and weight — Babies with Down syndrome are usually smaller than other babies, and they have smaller heads. They may also grow more slowly and may never reach the same heights that typical children do.
🌸Vision — Most children with Down syndrome have some sort of vision problem, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. They may also have weak eye muscles (cross-eyed) or have abnormal eye movements that impair vision. Glasses can often correct these problems.
🌸Hearing loss — Nearly 80 percent of people with Down syndrome develop some degree of hearing impairment, sometimes requiring a hearing aid. Children with Down syndrome are also much more prone than other children to having ear infections.
🌸Skin — The majority of children with Down syndrome have a skin disorder of one sort or the other.
🌸Behavior — Behavioral and psychological problems are more common among children with Down syndrome than among other children. Common disorders include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional disorder, and aggressive disorders. As many as 7 percent of children with Down syndrome have an autism spectrum disorder.
🌸Sleep apnea — Up to 75 percent of children with Down syndrome have sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes them to intermittently stop breathing while asleep. The condition is often tied to being overweight, but, among children with Down syndrome, it happens even when weight is not an issue.
NB: Every child with Downs syndrome needs a scan of the heart ❤️
