Diseases | the-human-body

Hirschsprung Disease

This disease is an absence of nerve cells in the smooth muscle of the colon. It causes a blockage in this part of the body, creating the buildup of stool.

Signs and Symptoms

The signs of this disease vary among the severity and age of the patient.

Symptoms in newborns include:

Swollen belly
Vomiting (possibly a green or brown substance)
Gas or constipation
diarrhea

Symptoms in older children include:

Swollen abdomen
Chronic constipation
Gas
Failure to gain weight
Fatigue

Treatment options

Children who have this disease, luckly, d have a treatment option available. Eventually the part of the intestine will get blocked up so much that doctors will have to take out the affected portion. This does lower the complications that these children have, but it does not resolve it. These children may end up having problems like constipation or gas even after the surgery.

Risk Factors

This disease is mostly affected by males. Usually they are either newborns or younger children. About every 1:5000 children born in the United States have it. Around the world, this ranges from 1:1000 to 1:10000 children.

Prevetion

Unfortunately, this disease is not preventable. This disease is heridetary and is caused by a problem in the DNA. The surgery does help to fix it, but again, it doesn't completely resolve all of the problems that these children will have. Most likely, parents who have this disease will pass it on to their children because of the certain gene that it is in.