Possible complications of achondroplasia in children
Individuals with achondroplasia show a lot of health problems, but these problems don’t occur in every child. Your child’s healthcare provider can address any of these obstacles.
Problems may include:
- Dental problems: An orthodontist should examine the child to exclude and treat any abnormal findings, such as twisted teeth. The orthodontist is a dentist who repairs the alignment of teeth.
- Ear infections: It is necessary to treat any ear infection during childhood to avoid hearing loss. Doctors can treat recurrent ear infections with ear tubes.
- We should perform check-ups for bones to control any problem, such as leg pain.
- We need to examine the spine to control any breathing problem that may happen due to the compression of the upper end of the spine. In exceptional cases, compression of the upper part of the spinal cord occurs in infancy and leads to sudden death during sleep.
- Patient with apnea suffers from difficult breathing for short periods, and infants may have episodes of apnea. Doctors can apply Surgery to remove the enlarged tonsils and adenoids to correct this problem.
- Doctors can treat regular ear infections with ear tubes.
- Hydrocephalus means an accumulation of fluid inside the brain. Doctors must drain this overloaded fluid to avoid brain affection by the insertion of a tube called a shunt.
- Posture problems: Infants may have a tiny bunch in the upper back (kyphosis). This feature disappears when a kid starts to walk. But walking results in inward curvature of the lower back (lordosis). Physical therapy may help with this problem.
- Obesity may appear and raise the risk of various diseases later in life; thus, you must follow your doctor’s guidance about ideas to keep your child’s weight healthy.
- A diseased child may have narrow vertebral canals, which are the spaces inside the spinal bones that contain the spinal cord. These narrow canals may lead to spinal cord compression as a child gets older.
