Frequent illness in childhood, especially in children who go to kindergarten or school, is usually considered normal. Pediatric Diseases, Pediatric Immunology Specialist Prof. Dr. Hülya Ercan Sarıçoban drew attention to the fact that only children with 4 or more ear infections per year or 2 or more sinus infections per year should be evaluated in terms of immunodeficiency.
A strong immune system is our most important weapon in the fight against diseases for all ages. However, the situation is somewhat different in children born with congenital immunodeficiency. While they are weaker in the fight against diseases, they may have to struggle with different diseases in their later lives. At this point, Pediatric Diseases, Pediatric Immunology Specialist Prof., who said that families should be very careful while observing children in every sense. Dr. Hülya Ercan Sarıçoban told the following: “A simple cold should heal within an average of 1 week with simple medicines. However, if antibiotics need to be used in every disease, if breathers are used every time, or if their eczema does not improve, if they are covered with fungi and viruses, it should be investigated whether there is a problem in the immune system. Stating that even the late fall of the belly in newborn babies can be a sign of immunodeficiency, Prof. Dr. Hülya Ercan Sarıçoban pointed out that a baby’s navel should fall within 15 days, and if the navel did not fall in this process, it should be evaluated together with the immune system and further testing should be done.
OBSESSED MORE IN COMMUNITIES WITH FREQUENT INTERNAL MARRIAGES
Yeditepe University Kozyatağı Hospital Pediatric Diseases, Pediatric Immunology Specialist, who defines primary immunodeficiency as a disease group that develops against bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites due to a congenital genetic cause and progresses with infections. Dr. Hülya Ercan Sarıçoban said, “Approximately 500 different diseases that cause this problem have been identified. While the common and mild forms are seen in 1 in every 200 births, the severe and rare forms occur in 1 in 10 000 births. It is more common in societies where consanguineous marriages are common, as in our country.
IT IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT FROM OPPORTUNITIVE INFECTIONS
Underlining that immunodeficiency is a genetic disorder and it is not possible to correct it with what a person eats or drinks, Prof. Dr. Hülya Ercan Sarıçoban said, “At this point, the important thing is to be protected from opportunistic infections that can be caused by immunodeficiency. In order to achieve this, preventive treatments are required according to the type of the disease.
CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE IN CROWD
Yeditepe University Hospital Pediatrics, Pediatric Immunology Specialist Prof., said that the children in question should not be kept in very crowded environments where the infection can spread easily because their immunity is impaired to varying degrees. Dr. Hülya Ercan Sarıçoban talked about other points that parents should pay attention to: “It is also extremely important that these children are vaccinated on time. However, we cannot administer live vaccines such as measles, tuberculosis, varicella or oral polio in some children with immunodeficiency. Because the immune system of these children can be infected by the vaccine microbe. Therefore, early diagnosis is very important. Especially in newborns, the diagnosis should be made before the tuberculosis vaccine administered in the second month. In children who cannot leave the hospital for a long time after birth, who take antibiotics, who have eczema in their body, who have thrush in their mouth, who have diarrhea that does not improve, especially if their parents are relatives, it is important to have at least a complete blood count and lymphocyte values checked before the tuberculosis vaccine is administered. Otherwise, by vaccinating the sick child with tuberculosis, widespread tuberculosis may develop and lead to much more severe consequences.”
Source: (BHA) – Beyaz News Agency
