Thalassemia minor.

I came across a few people who were diagnosed as thalassemia minor since their childhood but did not know the implications of this diagnosis. Now they are in their process of settling in life.
They have to be put wise or else it could be disastrous.
Any mild anemia can be due to Thalassemia minor and can not be detected unless tested for.
In India commonest anemia is nutrition deficiency anemia therefore doctors put the child on iron without any tests. If the underlying disease is thalassemia than iron load can be dangerous rather than improving the anemia.
The test for this condition is hemoglobin electrophoresis which is easily available.
If found to be having this condition , one should not take iron and MOST IMPORTANT IS NOT TO MARRY A PARTNER WITH THALASSEMIA MINOR. OTHERWISE CHILDREN BORN OF SUCH PARENTS WILL SUFFER FROM THALLESIMIA MAJOR . Thallasemia major is a very serious condition , where child can not live without weekly blood transfusions and methods of bringing out iron overload from the body.
The best is to go in for tests rather than matching Janam patri before marriage.
mind you this condition is pretty common in certain parts of world including Punjab in India.

Vaccinations for children in first year of life..

BCG vaccination should be given at birth , it is to prevent Tuberculosis. It can be given at any age if it is missed at birth. in two months it will be followed by a scar. If not , it needs re vaccination.
Polio drops are also administered at birth and are given at 6 week onwards in five doses one month apart in the first year of life. inject able polio is also available which can also be administered from 6 weeks onward along with oral polio.
Polio does not have cure , it results in crippling , but the prevention is simple and effective.
DPT vaccination protects against Diphthria , Whooping cough , and Tetanus. This is injected intra muscularly three times along with polio.
This is available as a pentavalent vaccine also in which polio and hepatitis vaccinations are also combined in the same injection. by this a single shot gives protection against 5 diseases. Diphthria is a serious disease affecting heart muscle , breathing muscles and is rapidly progressive towards death. So is Tetanus , a disease resulting into muscular paralysis and death. Whooping cough too is full of dreaded complications.
Hepatitis B vaccination is also administered at birth , after one month and after 6 months of the first dose. This protects against the dreaded life threatening Hepatitis B disease of the liver.
At 9 months of age Measles vaccination is given intramuscular , to prevent measles which is a contagious disease and is a biggest killer in first year of life in malnourished children. These vaccinations have to be followed with boosters in next few years or else the immunity will be lost. I shall deal with further vaccinations in my next blog. PREVENT DISEASES BY TIMELY VACCINATIONS.