Do you know that a sore throat and tonsils among children below fifteen years of age is a recipe of heart complications? Yes it is, a fact that many parents and caregivers ignore.
The heart is the life organ. Any time the heart fails death can occur and if interfered with can cause lifelong effects among individuals.
The mater Hospital organized a free heart screening for rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart diseases in Kitale over the weekend. The function saw over 3000 school going children screened with hundred and fifty of them referred for advanced treatment.
The minors were diagnosed with rheumatic heart diseases and congenital heart diseases.
According to Roseanne Nyabera , cardiac program coordinator at the mater hospital, most cases of heart complications among children go unnoticed with majority of them preventable.
In an exclusive interview with the Ureport, Nyabera said most parents are not aware of tell-tale signs that cause complications of the heart only to be reported late. Nyabera said rheumatic fever; an illness caused by bacteria called Strep Germ normally presents itself as sore throat affecting many tissues especially the heart.
“The fever will eventually cause the rheumatic heart disease caused by scarring of the heart valves from the infection. This forces the heart to work harder than usual to pump the blood”, she remarked adding that such cases need surgery to replace or repair the valve is recommended.
Nyabera said the condition occurs at any age but most common in children under 15 years. Apart from the sore throat, other signs that parents should take serious include pain and difficulty in swallowing, swollen painful joints, fever and swollen nodules. Shortness of breath and chest discomfort should not also be taken lightly.
Nyabera said the hospital is doing sensitization program countrywide to enable parents be aware of the preventive measures adding highland regions of the country are most affected catalyst by cold experienced in the regions.
Simple measures to prevent these complications are treating sore throats using antibiotics, wash hands regularly and avoiding overcrowding. Providing healthy balanced diet is highly recommendable as it helps boost child’s immunity giving infections at bay.
Congenital heart disease is another complication that goes unnoticed. These are children bore with a hole in the heart. Nyabera said during the screening a child aged 14 was discovered to have congenital.
According to the cardiologist, early treatment is the only solution to avert deaths caused by heart diseases.
