Learning about Angioedema in Children
To see children suffering from a disease can be very distressing. One of these diseases is angioedema in children. The angioedema medical definition is: “it’s an allergic skin disease characterized by itch-less and painless swelling of the skin.
Angioedema in children not only disfigures their faces temporarily because of the swelling but can also prove deadly. You should learn more about this disease and how to properly manage the problem.
If you want to learn more about angioedema in children read this detailed guide on this topic.
This article will explain the causes, symptoms and management of angioedema in children; however, for better understanding, angioedema medical definition is given in the beginning.
The angioedema medical definition is an allergic skin disorder typically characterized by itchless and painless swelling involving the skin, dermis, subcutaneous tissues, the mucous membranes, and occasionally, the viscera. Other common names of angioedema are Quincke edema, angioneurotic edema, giant urticaria, and Quincke’s disease.
Angioedema in children can be caused by allergic reactions (e.g. rubber allergy), ACE inhibitor therapy, drugs (e.g. aspirin), insect bites (e.g. ladybug), some autoimmune reasons or it can be a hereditary problem.
The most common and obvious symptoms of angioedema in children entail swelling on certain parts of the body, abdominal pain and cramps occur frequently. These symptoms usually occur without any recognizable cause. In some case the child may start vomiting or nausea without any obvious reason.
Hereditary angioedema becomes evident in children with the mean age of 4.8 years. It can affect boys and equal number of girls. Girls can be impacted easily due to hormonal changes during their puberty. A qualified doctor can diagnose the problem by obtaining the respective blood tests.
Ongoing monitoring and documenting of the symptoms observed can help the physician to formulate a treatment plan efficiently. In case of sudden abdominal pain certain painkillers and anti-nausea agents can be hopeful.
Children can suffer recurrent episodes of angioedema and the abdominal pain so you must take some necessary steps to manage this annoying problem. The teachers and caregivers who are supervising such children must have the telephone numbers of the parents, HAE center or the physician. If the child is going for outing, emergency medications, his emergency identification card and the letter by the physician should be kept at hand. If the child is stay out of home for a longer period of time, you should consult the situation in detail with the physician.
