Do you often have a nosebleed? Contact your doctor, as it may be from a rare disease.
There are particularly widespread symptoms that are generally underestimated and little considered. In fact – in some specific cases – those same symptoms could be considered real alarm bells towards something much more serious. We refer to the sudden nosebleed, a disorder commonly associated with simple capillary weakness. Sometimes, however, this symptom is attributable to the hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT).
We are talking about a very rare disease, genetically transmitted by the parent. In fact, it is also defined illness autosomal dominant: with reference to the first term we mean that the diseased gene is found on a non-sexual chromosome, so it is transmitted regardless of the sex of the parent and child; second, with the term dominantwe mean that the disease can also be transmitted from a single chromosome.
One of the first symptoms of the disease manifests itself in the young age and can be summarized in the loss of nosebleeds. The symptoms subsequently worsen causing blood loss in the intestine e the formation of some red spots All over the body (teleangectasis), including internal organs. Let’s explore the topic together.
HHT: Symptoms and Possible Medical Treatments
The most dangerous symptom of the disease is not so much the loss of nosebleeds, but the progressive spread of the teleangectasis. Given the presence on soft organs like the heart, brain and lungs – these red flecks they can cause convulsions, seizures and internal bleeding, main culprits of strokes. Furthermore, the worrying aspect is that – being a genetic disease – there is no cure capable of eradicating it, but only useful therapies to live with it.
First of all, a first step is to take iron supplements: Patients with HHT often run the risk of anemia due to the sudden loss of blood. Secondly, at the initial stage it would be useful to apply reconstructive creams for the nasal cavities and – in the most serious cases – the doctor could foresee a real surgical operation. As for the teleangectasisin this case the surgeon could intervene with an embolization operation: block the blood supply to prevent serious consequences in case of injury.
In any case, if you notice frequent blood loss, especially at a young age, contact your GP immediately for further investigations. If with advancing age, the teleangectasisit is good to intervene immediately to counteract the effect.