Common diseases when the child's immune system is weakened

The immune system is the body's first line of defense, a "barrier" against invading agents such as viruses, bacteria or parasites. A healthy immune system will repel the invasion of harmful agents, help children avoid diseases and help the body develop health.

Causes of a weakened immune system in children

The immune system in newborns is good thanks to the system of antibodies received in the fetus. However, antibodies began to decline sharply over the next 6 months. Babies need to be breastfed immediately and exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age, as this is a passive source of antibodies to maintain immunity.

Starting from 6 months of age onward, the maternal antibodies passed to the child have decreased a lot, at this time the child's immune system is not yet complete, it is not until 3-4 years of age that this system can fully produce these antibodies. Antibodies help fight infections.

The interplay between the passive and active immune systems in the period 6 months to 3 years is the time when children become susceptible to infections such as diarrhea, respiratory infections. allergies or allergies.

Common diseases when the child's immune system is weakened

When the body's immune system is weakened, the reduced resistance is the main factor that causes the rate of children to get sick, especially when the weather changes.

When the body's immune system is weakened, the resistance ability is reduced, leading to an increase in the incidence of diseases, especially when the weather changes seasons.

Some diseases that children are susceptible to when the immune system is weak

Diseases related to the respiratory tract

In addition to the weak resistance in children, the respiratory system in young children is not fully developed, the airways are short, breathing many times a minute will create conditions for viruses and bacteria to easily penetrate.

Respiratory diseases that make young children susceptible are: Acute pharyngitis; rhinitis, flu, acute laryngitis and laryngitis, pneumonia complications ... For children with bronchitis, pneumonia complications, acute pharyngitis... if not treated promptly, can lead to dangerous complications.

Bacteria are considered to be the cause of illness if fever, cough, and swallowing pain are not self-limited or worsen after 5-7 days.

Laryngitis and acute laryngitis

Common in children 6 months to 6 years old, most common in children 2 years old. The disease starts with common nasopharyngitis symptoms, children start hoarseness, muffled voice, wheezing, wheezing, concave breast and chest cavity. Children cough a lot, may have difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, noisy breathing, accessory respiratory muscle contractions, sweating, cyanosis, lethargy and death if not treated promptly.

Pneumonia

Occurs at any age, mainly caused by bacteria, especially Hib bacteria and pneumococcal bacteria. The disease manifests early with signs of abnormally rapid breathing, coughing with wheezing if there is a lot of mucus in the respiratory tract, some children may have high fever, tired, lethargic breathing. The disease can be fatal to children if not detected early and treated aggressively.

Vaginitis

Seen at all ages, especially children 2 months to 2 years old. Children with runny nose, prolonged nasal congestion are typical signs of the disease.

Acute rhinosinusitis

It is similar to acute nasopharyngitis, but symptoms tend to be mild and then worsen after a week. Children with stuffy noses, persistent runny noses. Nasal discharge turns milky, green, or yellow. Children often cry a lot; If the child can talk, the child may complain of headache, pain behind the eye socket, heaviness in the face, dry throat.

Gastrointestinal disease

In young children (especially young children in the first 5 years of life), the intestinal tract is not yet fully developed, enzyme activity is still weak, the endocrine system, circulatory system, and liver and kidney functions are still immature. . When the immune system is weakened, cold weather is a favorable condition for pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites to develop.

Children with digestive disorders

Gastrointestinal disorders are abnormal contractions of the sphincter muscles in the digestive system. Causes abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements. When having digestive disorders, children will experience inconvenience in daily life. Due to the change in the problem of going to the toilet, children often have abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort.

Young children are susceptible to digestive disorders, because the digestive system is not yet complete in structure. Long-term digestive disorders prevent children from absorbing enough nutrients for healthy development. As a result, children are often malnourished. Physical retardation and underdeveloped immune system.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases in children. The main cause of this problem is that the child's intestines are infected with viruses or are attacked by certain types of bacteria.

Typical symptoms of diarrhea are children passing stools at least 3-4 times a day, the stools are quite loose and often mixed with mucus. Along with that, a few symptoms children may face such as abdominal pain, dehydration ...

In which, diarrhea exists in two main forms, which are acute and chronic, parents should carefully monitor. When a child has diarrhea, the child's body loses water extremely quickly, if this condition is not handled in time, it can threaten the child's life and health.

Dysentery

Mainly caused by Amibe parasites and Shigella bacilli, people with dysentery have very little stools, but accompanied by sputum and blood, along with symptoms of fever, abdominal pain, always feeling like having a bowel movement, So the children gradually fainted, struggled, fell into a coma and then died.

The primary risk of dysentery is to become chronic, long-lasting. In addition, Amibe parasites can invade the liver causing liver abscess. Shigella type often causes dysentery in children, this type is not chronic, does not cause liver abscess, but when complications can cause death within 24 hours.

Prevent gastrointestinal diseases for children

To prevent gastrointestinal diseases for children, parents should

• Maintain personal hygiene, ensure food safety and hygiene. Use boiled water to cool, when drinking soft drinks should use sterilized processed types sealed in cans or bottles, should not let children drink dusty pavement water. Cooked food should not be left for more than 2 hours. All food when not in use must be tightly covered and stored at a safe temperature to avoid rancidity.

• Breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months of life, because breast milk is a valuable and nutritious source of nutrients, has the best resistance, and is able to fight diseases.

• Practice personal hygiene, wash children's hands with soap before eating, when preparing food, after going to the toilet... Keep the house dry, cool, clean, always put the children to sleep under a mosquito net. Even during the day to prevent mosquito bites.

• Give your child a full range of nutrients, choose foods he likes and divide meals. Children should drink a lot of water, it is recommended to give orange juice, fresh lemon juice, salted lemon, coconut water because these types of water, in addition to rehydrating the child, also compensate for some electrolytes lost due to high fever. Significant vitamin C helps strengthen blood vessel walls to reduce bleeding in the body. Children should be fully vaccinated to prevent related diseases.

Conclusion

When a child's immune system is weakened, they become more susceptible to various common diseases. The immune system plays a critical role in protecting the body against harmful pathogens and maintaining overall health.Be very knowledgeable so you can best protect your child.