Are you aware of progeria? It is extremely rare yet fatal genetic condition in children. Usually progeria is characterized by an accelerated aging in your kid.
With this condition of progeria, your kid begins to look like an elderly person.
Children with this syndrome usually survive to an average age of 13 years and usually get affected with serious heart disease.
Like other newborns, children with progeria appear normal at their birth.
But after 6 to 12 months, you can observe certain changes in their skin and also hair loss, if your kid has progeria.
How does progeria affect children?
Even though your baby has born with much better healthy look, the signs and symptoms of progeria tends to appear at 18-24 months of age. Certain common signs of this premature aging condition can mainly include:
- Failure in normal growth.
- Unexpected loss of body fat.
- Wrinkles, loose and aged appearance of skin.
- Dislocation of hip.
- Stiffness in joints.
- Prominent eyes and scalp veins.
- Head appears to be too large for face.
- Unexplained hair loss, including eyebrows and eye lashes.
- High pitched voice that resembles with an elderly person.
Even, it is possible for your kid to experience various signs and symptoms of cardiovascular heart disease or stroke. Despite of differing in various ethnic backgrounds, all kids with progeria have remarkably similar appearance.
Is there any better treatment?
Actually, there is no permanent cure for this accelerated aging condition in children. But, there are ways to optimize the quality of life in children with progeria. Regular checkup for cardiovascular diseases can help you to manage your kid’s premature aging condition. Certain therapies that can ease the symptoms of progeria can mainly include:
- High calorie dietary supplement: Provide your kid with high calorie foods in his/her regular diet. This can help your kid to prevent sudden weight loss and also to ensure sufficient nutrition for your child.
- Low dose of aspirin: Take necessary advice from your personal doctor and give your kid a very low daily dose of aspirin. This can help your kid to prevent sudden strokes and heart attacks.
- Physical therapy: There are certain physical and occupational therapies that can help your kid to get better relief from stiffness in joints. So, try to explore different physical and occupational therapies that can help in the treatment of hip problems and joint stiffness in your prematurely aging baby.
If your child is confirmed with progeria, it could be emotionally devastating for you. Coping with this disorder can become a major commitment of physical and emotional effort for you and also for your family members. So, take necessary suggestions from your doctor and try to implement them to improve quality of life of your kid.