Thick blood in a child is a problem condition that many parents have to face. As you know, the blood of a healthy person should be kept in a liquid state, since it constantly interacts with coagulation and anticoagulation systems. If the blood becomes thick, you need to understand how dangerous it is and what actions parents should take.
Causes
Thick blood in a child most often indicates dehydration. This can be caused by severe and prolonged vomiting, insufficient volume of consumed drinking, diarrhea, renal failure, high fever, too dry air in the room, excessive sweating during exercise. Other factors may influence.
Very thick blood in a child is cause for concern. It is important to find out why this happened, as this may be a signal of a temporary adverse condition or serious illness. Among the reasons why a child has thick blood can be the following problems:
- Congenital heart defect.
- Hypovitaminosis, especially this is affected by a lack of ascorbic acid and B vitamins.
- Erythremia.
- Obesity.
- Taking certain medications, such as diuretics or glucocorticoids.
- Fermentopathy.
- Tumors of the kidneys.
- Obstructive diseases of the respiratory system.
- Injuries.
- Endocrine pathology.
- Leukemia
- Parasitic infections.
- Splenectomy.
- Diseases that increase the level of coagulation.
- Acute inflammatory disease.
All these are the causes of thick blood in a child. It is important to make a timely diagnosis in order to determine in which direction to treat.
Symptoms
Of course, an appropriate blood test will help determine the child’s thick blood. But there are external signs that suggest the presence of this problem. If they occur, you must immediately seek qualified medical help.
Symptoms of thick blood in a child can be as follows:
- skin cyanosis;
- persistent dizziness;
- a feeling of severe heaviness in the legs and arms;
- swelling limbs;
- pains at the fingertips;
- a state of general weakness;
- dry mouth
- lethargy and drowsiness;
- fatigue;
- headache;
- reduced concentration of attention;
- thirst;
- cold limbs;
- high blood pressure
- the appearance of shortness of breath.
These are all signs that parents should be concerned about. An analysis should be done. This is the most accurate and simple diagnostic method that will allow you to unequivocally establish the presence of a problem or its absence.
In the analysis, thick blood will be noticeable by an increased number of red blood cells, as well as a change in hematocrit. This indicator will also be abnormally increased in this case.
In some cases, other blood cells may grow.
Danger state
Having understood the causes of thick blood in a child, treatment should be started immediately. If this is not done, this condition can lead to a significant deterioration in the overall well-being of the patient. This is especially fraught if the sick child is very small. In this case, he will not be able to timely report on ill health, accurately describe the symptoms and problems that bother him.
This condition can be extremely dangerous. If the blood in the child’s body becomes too thick than it should be in normal condition, its movement through the vessels will be much more difficult. This will happen due to the fact that with excessive density it will not be saturated with oxygen enough. Because of this, the movement of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues will be disrupted.
In the future, all this is fraught with deterioration of the work of internal organs, as well as gluing together blood cells, which leads to the appearance of blood clots. Therefore, if a child has thick blood, what to do in this case, each parent should know. Indeed, because of this, the risk of heart attacks, strokes, intestinal necrosis, and other dangerous pathologies that can lead to a significant deterioration in the patient’s condition, and in some cases even his death, is significantly increased.
Pediatrician consultation
If the child has thick blood, treatment should begin immediately, as soon as the analysis shows its thickening.
The pediatrician during the admission should evaluate all the symptoms, make a clinical picture of the disease, establish the cause of the blood density, and then recommend appropriate treatment. Its principle will depend on the causes of this condition.
Depending on the diagnosis, appropriate medications will be prescribed to eliminate the underlying disease, which led to the appearance of such a dangerous symptom. As a rule, blood thinners are prescribed.
Proper nutrition
The doctor will also advise parents to review their child’s diet and diet. The daily menu should include foods that will help thin the blood. These include citrus fruits, garlic, sunflower seeds, beets, sour berries, ginger, cocoa, olive oil, and some other products.
However, certain products in this condition are strictly prohibited. These include smoked foods, bananas, sodas, fatty foods, lentils, buckwheat, rosehips, walnuts. Their use can only aggravate the condition of the patient.
Drinking mode
It is also important to pay attention to the drinking regimen of the baby. Children should drink as much green or herbal tea as possible, plain, clean drinking water, and fruit or vegetable juices.
Some use all kinds of decoctions, infusions and other recipes from traditional medicine. These methods should be treated with extreme caution. Use them only in a complex with prescribed drugs and only after consultation with your doctor.
Treatment
With thick blood in a person, as a rule, conservative methods of treatment are used. For its liquefaction, acetylsalicylic acid or preparations prepared on its basis are prescribed. This measure can significantly reduce the likelihood of a negative development of events when such a symptom appears.
Depending on the reason that the doctor must establish, the patient may be advised to bring metabolic processes back to normal, take medications that will prevent the formation of blood clots in his body. In some cases, treatment may be required to eliminate bone marrow tumors.
It is important to understand that a universal form of treatment does not exist. There are many reasons for this condition; therapy depends on which particular problem led to the formation of viscous blood. You can eliminate increased coagulability with the help of Fragmin, Heparin, Warfarin and some other medicines.
If there is a risk of bleeding, the use of anticoagulants is strictly contraindicated. It is also required to prevent the development of hemorrhagic syndrome. For this, plasmapheresis is prescribed to the patient, platelet transfusion may be required.
Folk methods
To dilute blood without the use of drugs, you can take traditional medicine, but only if a minor disease is diagnosed, and the attending doctor approved this method.
Medicinal plants help reduce blood density. For example, yellow clover may be an alternative to Aspirin. Remember that the plant should be collected during its flowering, so that it has the most useful properties. Yellow clover is often combined with meadow clover, hawthorn fruits, and the roots of medicinal valerian. All components are recommended to take two teaspoons, pour 200 ml of boiling water. This mixture is infused with a water bath, after which it is necessary to cool it and drink the entire volume.
To increase efficiency, you can use willow bark.
You can not use these plants if the child has an allergic reaction, before taking it, be sure to consult a doctor.